Correlated one-dimensional electron conduction in ferroelastic domain walls through nematic-like charge stripes.

Ferroelastic twin walls in WO3 films host tunable one-dimensional electron channels with conductance exceeding 100-fold at room temperature.

• Why it matters: Understanding and controlling one-dimensional electron transport is crucial for developing advanced quantum devices and sensors, yet practical platforms remain limited.
• What they did: The study used scanning tunneling microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy, and photoemission spectroscopy to investigate surface ferroelastic twin walls, revealing quantized states and nematic-like charge stripes with a periodicity of 39 Å.
• The result: These walls confine Coulomb-coupled electrons within stripe-induced potential wells, enabling room-temperature, highly enhanced conductance and offering a platform for engineering correlated electron states.