Interactions of Crystal Dislocation and Polar Vortex in a Ferroelectric Oxide Superlattice

Crystal dislocations, traditionally regarded as detrimental defects, are increasingly recognized as functional elements for tailoring emergent properties in complex oxides. Here, we establish dislocation engineering as a general strategy for controlling topological polar states in ferroelectric superlattices. Using a PbTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 model system, we combine phase‐field simulations with electron microscopy to demonstrate that individual crystallographic dislocations locally affect polar vortex textures, leading to the formation of hierarchical structures such as vortex rings. Dislocations act as localized symmetry‐breaking centers that not only reshape static polarization configurations but also govern switching pathways under external electric fields by serving as robust nucleation and pinning sites. Phase‐field simulations suggest that specific periodic arrangements of dislocations can create superdomains and skyrmion‐like textures with well defined topological charges. These findings emphasize a theoretically scalable method for encoding functional topological states, offering a novel platform for the design of programmable nanoelectronics and adaptable ferroic devices.