A Raman Study of Morphotropic Phase Boundary in PbZr1-xTixO3 at low temperatures

Raman spectra of PbZr1-xTixO3 ceramics with titanium concentration varying between 0.40 and 0.60 were measured at 7 K. By observing the concentration-frequency dependence of vibrational modes, we identified the boundaries among rhombohedral, monoclinic, and tetragonal ferroelectric phases. The analysis of the spectra was made in the view of theory group analysis making possible the assignment of some modes for the monoclinic phase.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Competing orders in PZN-xPT and PMN-xPT relaxor ferroelectrics

Neutron and x-ray scattering studies on relaxor ferroelectric systems Pb(Zn$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)O$_3$ (PZN), Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)O$_3$ (PMN), and their solid solutions with PbTiO$_3$ (PT) have shown that inhomogeneities and disorder play important roles in the materials properties. Although a long-range polar order can be established at low temperature - sometimes with the help of an external electric field; short-range local structures called the ``polar nano-regions'' (PNR) still persist. Both the bulk structure and the PNR have been studied in details. The coexistence and competition of long- and short-range polar orders and how they affect the structural and dynamical properties of relaxor materials are discussed.Comment: Article submitted for JPSJ Special Topics (Novel States of Matter Induced by Frustration

The Simplicity Project: Managing Complexity in a Diverse ICT World

As technology develops, people are using an ever broader range of heterogeneous ICT (Information and Communication Technology) devices and network-based services. New areas of research, such as pervasive computing, will further increase the diversity of the devices and services with which users have to deal. The result is an enormous burden of complexity for users, service providers and network operators. This creates obstacles to effective exploitation and acceptance of Beyond 3G systems such as ambient intelligence, context-aware services and novel access technologies. The goal of the Simplicity project is to reduce this complexity by: i) providing automatic customization of user access to services and the network; ii) automatically adapting services to terminal characteristics and user preferences; iii) orchestrating network capabilities

The Simplicity Project: Managing Complexity in a Diverse ICT World

Editors: G. (EDT) Riva, F. (EDT) Vatalaro, F. (EDT) Davide, M. (EDT) Alcaniz, Ph.D. Giuseppe Riv