582 research outputs found
The monoclinic phase of PZT ceramics: Raman and phenomenological theory studies
This work reports on the first Raman detection of the tetragonal to
monoclinic phase transition in PZT ceramics near morphotropic phase boundary at
low temperatures. The transition is characterized by changes in the frequency
of lattice modes with the temperature. The results presented here confirm the
previous one recently reported by Noheda et al. using high-resolution
synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction technique and dielectric measurements. The
stability of the new phase is discussed within the framework of
phenomenological Landau-Devonshire Theory.Comment: 6 pages including 4 figures, Latex, submitted to Applied Physics
Letter
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
The Structural Complexity of (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-BaTiO3 as Revealed by Raman Spectroscopy
The structural phase diagram of the Pb-free ferroelectric
(Na1/2Bi1/2)1-xBaxTiO3 (NBT-BT), x<0.1, has been explored by Raman spectroscopy
at temperatures from 10 to 470 K. The data provide clear evidence for a
proposed temperature-independent morphotropic phase boundary at x \approx
0.055. However, there is no evidence for a structural phase transition across T
\approx 370 K for x > 0.055, where bulk-property anomalies appear to signal a
transition to a nonpolar or antiferroelectric phase. The results identify that
the phase above 370 K shows short-range ionic displacements that are identical
to those in the long-range-ordered phase below 370 K. These conclusions provide
a natural interpretation of the weak piezoelectric response in this system and
have important implications for the search for Pb-free piezoelectrics.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure
Polarization states of polydomain epitaxial Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 thin films and their dielectric properties
Ferroelectric and dielectric properties of polydomain (twinned)
single-crystal Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 thin films are described with the aid of a
nonlinear thermodynamic theory, which has been developed recently for epitaxial
ferroelectric films with dense laminar domain structures. For Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3
(PZT) films with compositions x = 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, and 0.4, the "misfit
strain-temperature" phase diagrams are calculated and compared with each other.
It is found that the equilibrium diagrams of PZT films with x > 0.7 are similar
to the diagram of PbTiO3 films. They consist of only four different stability
ranges, which correspond to the paraelectric phase, single-domain tetragonal
ferroelectric phase, and two pseudo-tetragonal domain patterns. In contrast, at
x = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, the equilibrium diagram displays a rich variety of
stable polarization states, involving at least one monoclinic polydomain state.
Using the developed phase diagrams, the mean out-of-plane polarization of a
poled PZT film is calculated as a function of the misfit strain and
composition. Theoretical results are compared with the measured remanent
polarizations of PZT films grown on SrTiO3. Dependence of the out-of-plane
dielectric response of PZT films on the misfit strain in the heterostructure is
also reported.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure
Tool use for corpse cleaning in chimpanzees
For the first time, chimpanzees have been observed using tools to clean the corpse of a deceased group member. A female chimpanzee sat down at the dead body of a young male, selected a firm stem of grass, and started to intently remove debris from his teeth. This report contributes novel behaviour to the chimpanzee’s ethogram, and highlights how crucial information for reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human mortuary practices may be missed by refraining from developing adequate observation techniques to capture non-human animals’ death responses.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Low-temperature phase transformations of PZT in the morphotropic phase-boundary region
We present anelastic and dielectric spectroscopy measurements of
PbZr(1-x)Ti(x)O(3) with 0.455 < x < 0.53, which provide new information on the
low temperature phase transitions. The tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation
is first-order for x < 0.48 and causes a softening of the polycrystal Young's
modulus whose amplitude may exceed the one at the cubic-to-tetragonal
transformation; this is explainable in terms of linear coupling between shear
strain components and tilting angle of polarization in the monoclinic phase.
The transition involving rotations of the octahedra below 200 K is visible both
in the dielectric and anelastic losses, and it extends within the tetragonal
phase, as predicted by recent first-principle calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Chimpanzees use social information to acquire a skill they fail to innovate
E.J.C.v.L. was funded by the European Union under European Research Council Starting Grant no. 101042961—CULT_ORIGINS.Cumulative cultural evolution has been claimed to be a uniquely human phenomenon pivotal to the biological success of our species. One plausible condition for cumulative cultural evolution to emerge is individuals’ ability to use social learning to acquire know-how that they cannot easily innovate by themselves. It has been suggested that chimpanzees may be capable of such know-how social learning, but this assertion remains largely untested. Here we show that chimpanzees use social learning to acquire a skill that they failed to independently innovate. By teaching chimpanzees how to solve a sequential task (one chimpanzee in each of the two tested groups, n = 66) and using network-based diffusion analysis, we found that 14 naive chimpanzees learned to operate a puzzle box that they failed to operate during the preceding three months of exposure to all necessary materials. In conjunction, we present evidence for the hypothesis that social learning in chimpanzees is necessary and sufficient to acquire a new, complex skill after the initial innovation.Peer reviewe
Superparaelectric phase in the ensemble of non-interacting ferroelectric nanoparticles
For the first time we predict the conditions of superparaelectric phase
appearance in the ensemble of non-interacting spherical ferroelectric
nanoparticles. The superparaelectricity in nanoparticle was defined by analogy
with superparamagnetism, obtained earlier in small nanoparticles made of
paramagnetic material. Calculations of correlation radius, energetic barriers
of polarization reorientation and polarization response to external electric
field, were performed within Landau-Ginzburg phenomenological approach for
perovskites Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, BiFeO3 and uniaxial ferroelectrics rochelle salt and
triglycine sulfate.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, 3 Appendices, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.
Origin of the high piezoelectric response in PbZr(1-x)TixO3
High resolution x-ray powder diffraction measurements on poled PbZr(1-x)TixO3
(PZT) ceramic samples close to the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary (the
so-called morphotropic phase boundary, MPB) have shown that for both
rhombohedral and tetragonal compositions, the piezoelectric elongation of the
unit cell does not occur along the polar directions but along those directions
associated with the monoclinic distortion. This work provides the first direct
evidence for the origin of the very high piezoelectricity in PZT.Comment: 4 pages, 4 EPS figures embedded. More specific title and abstract. To
appear in Phys. Rev. Let
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