A ferroelectric nanostructure formed as a low dimensional nanoscale ferroelectric material having at least one vortex ring of polarization generating an ordered toroid moment switchable between multi-stable states. A stress-free ferroelectric nanodot under open-circuit-like electrical boundary conditions maintains such a vortex structure for their local dipoles when subject to a transverse inhomogeneous static electric field controlling the direction of the macroscopic toroidal moment. Stress is also capable of controlling the vortex\u27s chirality because of the electromechanical coupling that exists in ferroelectric nanodots
