107 research outputs found
Depolarizing field and "real" hysteresis loops in nanometer-scale ferroelectric films
We give detailed analysis of the effect of depolarizing field in
nanometer-size ferroelectric capacitors studied by Kim et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.
95, 237602 (2005)]. We calculate a critical thickness of the homogeneous state
and its stability with respect to domain formation for strained thin films of
BaTiO3 on SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrate within the Landau theory. While the former
(2.5nm) is the same as given by ab-initio calculations, the actual critical
thickness is set by the domains at 1.6nm. There is a large Merz's activation
field for polarization relaxation. Remarkably, the results show a_negative_
slope of the "actual" hysteresis loops, a hallmark of the domain structures in
ideal thin films with imperfect screening.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Domain enhanced interlayer coupling in ferroelectric/paraelectric superlattices
We investigate the ferroelectric phase transition and domain formation in a
periodic superlattice consisting of alternate ferroelectric (FE) and
paraelectric (PE) layers of nanometric thickness. We find that the polarization
domains formed in the different FE layers can interact with each other via the
PE layers. By coupling the electrostatic equations with those obtained by
minimizing the Ginzburg-Landau functional we calculate the critical temperature
of transition Tc as a function of the FE/PE superlattice wavelength and
quantitatively explain the recent experimental observation of a thickness
dependence of the ferroelectric transition temperature in KTaO3/KNbO3
strained-layer superlattices.Comment: Latest version as was published in PR
Universal Properties of Ferroelectric Domains
Basing on Ginzburg-Landau approach we generalize the Kittel theory and derive
the interpolation formula for the temperature evolution of a multi-domain
polarization profile P(x,z). We resolve the long-standing problem of the
near-surface polarization behavior in ferroelectric domains and demonstrate the
polarization vanishing instead of usually assumed fractal domain branching. We
propose an effective scaling approach to compare the properties of different
domain-containing ferroelectric plates and films.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. to be publishe
Smearing of phase transition due to a surface effect or a bulk inhomogeneity in ferroelectric nanostructures
The boundary conditions, customarily used in the Landau-type approach to
ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures, have to be modified to take into
account that a surface of a ferroelectric (FE) is a defect of the ``field''
type. The surface (interface) field is coupled to a normal component of
polarization and, as a result, the second order phase transitions are generally
suppressed and anomalies in response are washed out. In FE films with a
compositional (grading) or some other type of inhomogeneity, the transition
into a monodomain state is suppressed, but a transition with formation of a
domain structure may occur.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; the effective bias field is very large, the
estimate is adde
Abrupt appearance of the domain pattern and fatigue of thin ferroelectric films
We study the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films with a `passive'
layer (material with damaged ferroelectric properties) at the interface between
the film and electrodes within a continuous medium approximation. An abrupt
transition from a monodomain to a polydomain state has been found with the
increase of the `passive' layer thickness . The domain width changes very
quickly at the transition (exponentially with ). We have estimated the
dielectric response (the slope of the hysteresis loop) in the
`fatigued' multidomain state and found that it is in agreement with experiment,
assuming realistic parameters of the layer. We derive a simple universal
relation for the dielectric response, which scales as , involving only the
properties of the passive layer. This relation qualitatively reproduces the
evolution of the hysteresis loop in fatigued samples and it could be tested
with controlled experiments. It is expected that the coercive field should
increase with decreasing lateral size of the film. We believe that specific
properties of the domain structure under bias voltage in ferroelectrics with a
passive layer can resolve the long-standing `paradox of the coercive field'.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX 3.1 with two eps-figures. Minor amendments. To appear
in Phys. Rev. Letter
Proper ferroelastic phase transitions in thin epitaxial films with symmetry-conserving and symmetry-breaking misfit strains
We study how the ferroelastic domain structure sets in in an epitaxial film
of a material with second order proper ferroelastic transition. The domain
structures considered are similar to either or
structures in perovskite ferroelectrics. If the "extrinsic" misfit
strain, not associated with the transition, does not break the symmetry of the
high-temperature phase, the phase transition in the film occurs at somewhat
lower temperature compared to the bulk. The loss of stability then occurs with
respect to a sinusoidal strain wave, which evolves into the domain structure
with practically the same geometry and approximately the same period. In the
presence of the symmetry-breaking component of the misfit strain ("extrinsic"
misfit) the character of the phase transition is qualitatively different. In
this case it is a {\em topological} transition between single-domain and
multi-domain states, which starts from a low density of the domain walls.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX 3.
Ferroelectric Phase Transitions in Films with Depletion Charge
We consider ferroelectric phase transitions in both short-circuited and
biased ferroelectric-semiconductor films with a space (depletion) charge which
leads to some unusual behavior. It is shown that in the presence of the charge
the polarization separates into `switchable' and `non-switchable' parts. The
electric field, appearing due to the space charge, does not wash out the phase
transition, which remains second order but takes place at somewhat reduced
temperature. At the same time, it leads to a suppression of the
ferroelectricity in a near-electrode layer. This conclusion is valid for
materials with both second and first order phase transitions in pure bulk
samples. Influence of the depletion charge on thermodynamic coercive field
reduces mainly to the lowering of the phase transition temperature, and its
effect is negligible. The depletion charge can, however, facilitate an
appearance of the domain structure which would be detrimental for device
performance (fatigue). We discuss some issues of conceptual character, which
are generally known but were overlooked in previous works. The present results
have general implications for small systems with depletion charge.Comment: 11 pages, REVTeX 3.1, five eps-figures included in the text. Minor
clarifications in the text. To appear in Phys. Rev. B 61, Apr 1 (2000
The Lake Baikal neutrino experiment: selected results
We review the present status of the lake Baikal Neutrino Experiment and
present selected physical results gained with the consequetive stages of the
stepwise increasing detector: from NT-36 to NT-96. Results cover atmospheric
muons, neutrino events, very high energy neutrinos, search for neutrino events
from WIMP annihilation, search for magnetic monopoles and environmental
studies. We also describe an air Cherenkov array developed for the study of
angular resolution of NT-200.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures. To appear in the Procrrdings of International
Conference on Non-Accelerator New Physics, June 28 - July 3, 1999, Dubna,
Russi
BAIKAL experiment: status report
We review the present status of the Baikal Neutrino Project and present the
results obtained with the deep underwater neutrino telescope NT-200.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Presented at TAUP 2001 (7th international
workshop on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics), Sep. 2001,
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Assergi, Ital
Status of the Lake Baikal Experiment
We review the present status of the Baikal Underwater Neutrino Experiment and
report on neutrino events recorded with the detector stages NT-36 and NT-96.Comment: 5 pages, 4 PostScript figures, uses here.sty and mine.sty, submitted
to the Proc. of 5th Int. Workshop on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground
Physics (LNGS INFN, Assergi, September 7-11, 1997
- …