Features of superconducting transition in nanocomposite consisting of "insulating matrix (porous alkali-borosilicate glass)" - "granular metallic filler (indium)"

Patterns in temperature and magnetic field behavior of the electrical resistance of nanocomposite consisting of "insulating matrix (7 nm-pore alkali-borosilicate glass)" - "granular metallic filler (indium)" (PG7+In) has been found and analyzed in the vicinity of superconducting transition. Insulating behavior in the electrical resistivity has been observed in a normal state. External magnetic field shifts the transition to lower temperatures and the same time gradually strengths the insulating behavior above the superconducting transitio

Neutron Diffuse Scattering from Polar Nanoregions in the Relaxor Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3

We have studied the neutron diffuse scattering in the relaxor PMN. The diffuse scattering appears around the Burns temperature (~620K), indicating its origin from the polar nanoregions (PNR). While the relative diffuse intensities are consistent with previous reports, they are entirely different from those of the lowest-energy TO phonon. Because of that, it has been considered that this TO mode could not be the ferroelectric soft mode. Recently, a neutron scattering study has unambiguously shown that the TO mode does soften on cooling. If the diffuse scattering in PMN originates from the soft mode condensation, then the atomic displacements must satisfy the center of mass condition. But, the atomic displacements determined from diffuse scattering intensities do not fulfill this condition. To resolve this contradiction, we propose a simple model in which the total atomic displacement consists of two components: $\delta_{CM}$ is created by the soft mode condensation, satisfying the center of mass condition, and, $\delta_{shift}$ represents a uniform displacement of the PNR along their polar direction relative to the surrounding (unpolarized) cubic matrix. Within this framework, we can successfully describe the neutron diffuse scattering intensities observed in PMN.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures (Revised: 11-16-2001

Soft Mode Dynamics Above and Below the Burns Temperature in the Relaxor Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O_3

We report neutron inelastic scattering measurements of the lowest-energy transverse optic (TO) phonon branch in the relaxor Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O_3 from 400 to 1100 K. Far above the Burns temperature T_d ~ 620 K we observe well-defined propagating TO modes at all wave vectors q, and a zone center TO mode that softens in a manner consistent with that of a ferroelectric soft mode. Below T_d the zone center TO mode is overdamped. This damping extends up to, but not above, the waterfall wave vector q_wf, which is a measure of the average size of the PNR.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; modified discussion of Fig. 3, shortened captions, added reference, corrected typos, accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Soft Phonon Anomalies in the Relaxor Ferroelectric Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.92Ti_0.08O_3

Neutron inelastic scattering measurements of the polar TO phonon mode dispersion in the cubic relaxor Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.92Ti_0.08O_3 at 500K reveal anomalous behavior in which the optic branch appears to drop precipitously into the acoustic branch at a finite value of the momentum transfer q=0.2 inverse Angstroms, measured from the zone center. We speculate this behavior is the result of nanometer-sized polar regions in the crystal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Temperature Evolution of Sodium Nitrite Structure in a Restricted Geometry

The NaNO$_{2}$ nanocomposite ferroelectric material in porous glass was studied by neutron diffraction. For the first time the details of the crystal structure including positions and anisotropic thermal parameters were determined for the solid material, embedded in a porous matrix, in ferro- and paraelectric phases. It is demonstrated that in the ferroelectric phase the structure is consistent with bulk data but above transition temperature the giant growth of amplitudes of thermal vibrations is observed, resulting in the formation of a "premelted state". Such a conclusion is in a good agreement with the results of dielectric measurements published earlier.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Dynamical effects of the nanometer-sized polarized domains in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3

Recent neutron scattering measurements performed on the relaxor ferroelectric Pb[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)0.92Ti0.08]O3 (PZN-8%PT) in its cubic phase at 500 K, have revealed an anomalous ridge of inelastic scattering centered ~0.2 A-1 from the zone center (Gehring et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5216 (2000)). This ridge of scattering resembles a waterfall when plotted as a phonon dispersion diagram, and extends vertically from the transverse acoustic (TA) branch near 4 meV to the transverse optic (TO) branch near 9 meV. No zone center optic mode was found. We report new results from an extensive neutron scattering study of pure PZN that exhibits the same waterfall feature. We are able to model the dynamics of the waterfall using a simple coupled-mode model that assumes a strongly q-dependent optic mode linewidth Gamma1(q) that increases sharply near 0.2 A-1 as one approaches the zone center. This model was motivated by the results of Burns and Dacol in 1983, who observed the formation of a randomly-oriented local polarization in PZN at temperatures far above its ferroelectric phase transition temperature. The dramatic increase in Gamma1 is believed to occur when the wavelength of the optic mode becomes comparable to the size of the small polarized micro-regions (PMR) associated with this randomly-oriented local polarization, with the consequence that longer wavelength optic modes cannot propagate and become overdamped. Below Tc=410 K, the intensity of the waterfall diminishes. At lowest temperatures ~30 K the waterfall is absent, and we observe the recovery of a zone center transverse optic mode near 10.5 meV.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures (one color). Submitted to Physical Review

A Neutron Elastic Diffuse Scattering Study of PMN

We have performed elastic diffuse neutron scattering studies on the relaxor Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)O$_3$ (PMN). The measured intensity distribution near a (100) Bragg peak in the (hk0) scattering plane assumes the shape of a butterfly with extended intensity in the (110) and (1$\bar{1}$0) directions. The temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering shows that both the size of the polar nanoregions (PNR) and the integrated diffuse intensity increase with cooling even for temperatures below the Curie temperature $T_C \sim 213$ K.Comment: Submitted to PR

Ground State of Relaxor Ferroelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3Pb(Zn_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3

High energy x-ray diffraction measurements on Pb(Zn$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)O$_3$ (PZN) single crystals show that the system does not have a rhombohedral symmetry at room temperature as previously believed. The new phase (X) in the bulk of the crystal gives Bragg peaks similar to that of a nearly cubic lattice with a slight tetragonal distortion. The Bragg profile remains sharp with no evidence of size broadening due to the polar micro crystals (MC). However, in our preliminary studies of the skin, we have found the expected rhombohedral (R) phase as a surface state. On the other hand, studies on an electric-field poled PZN single crystal clearly indicate a rhombohedral phase at room temperature.Comment: 11 pages with 3 figure

Direct evidence of soft mode behavior near the Burns' temperature in PbMg1/3_{1 / 3}Nb2/3_{2 / 3}O3_{3} (PMN) relaxor ferroectric

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the relaxor ferroelectric PbMg$_{1 / 3}$Nb$_{2 / 3}$O$_{3}$ (PMN) in the temperature range 490~K$<$T$<$880~K directly observe the soft mode (SM) associated with the Curie-Weiss behavior of the dielectric constant $\varepsilon$(T). The results are treated within the framework of the coupled SM and transverse optic (TO1) mode and the temperature dependence of the SM frequency at q=0.075 a* is determined. The parameters of the SM are consistent with the earlier estimates and the frequency exhibits a minimum near the Burns temperature ($\approx$ 650K)Comment: 6 figure

Anomalous transverse acoustic phonon broadening in the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O_3

The intrinsic linewidth $\Gamma_{TA}$ of the transverse acoustic (TA) phonon observed in the relaxor ferroelectric compound Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3})_{0.8}$Ti$_{0.2}$O$_3$ (PMN-20%PT) begins to broaden with decreasing temperature around 650 K, nearly 300 K above the ferroelectric transition temperature $T_c$ ($\sim 360$ K). We speculate that this anomalous behavior is directly related to the condensation of polarized, nanometer-sized, regions at the Burns temperature $T_d$. We also observe the ``waterfall'' anomaly previously seen in pure PMN, in which the transverse optic (TO) branch appears to drop precipitously into the TA branch at a finite momentum transfer $q_{wf} \sim 0.15$ \AA$^{-1}$. The waterfall feature is seen even at temperatures above $T_d$. This latter result suggests that the PNR exist as dynamic entities above $T_d$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure