534 research outputs found
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
Materials science experiments in space
The criteria for the selection of the experimental areas and individual experiments were that the experiment or area must make a meaningful contribution to the field of material science and that the space environment was either an absolute requirement for the successful execution of the experiment or that the experiment can be more economically or more conveniently performed in space. A number of experimental areas and individual experiments were recommended for further consideration as space experiments. Areas not considered to be fruitful and others needing additional analysis in order to determine their suitability for conduct in space are also listed. Recommendations were made concerning the manner in which these materials science experiments are carried out and the related studies that should be pursued
Double polarization hysteresis loop induced by the domain pinning by defect dipoles in HoMnO3 epitaxial thin films
We report on antiferroelectriclike double polarization hysteresis loops in
multiferroic HoMnO3 thin films below the ferroelectric Curie temperature. This
intriguing phenomenon is attributed to the domain pinning by defect dipoles
which were introduced unintentionally during film growth process. Electron
paramagnetic resonance suggests the existence of Fe1+ defects in thin films and
first principles calculations reveal that the defect dipoles would be composed
of oxygen vacancy and Fe1+ defect. We discuss migration of charged point
defects during film growth process and formation of defect dipoles along
ferroelectric polarization direction, based on the site preference of point
defects. Due to a high-temperature low-symmetry structure of HoMnO3, aging is
not required to form the defect dipoles in contrast to other ferroelectrics
(e.g., BaTiO3).Comment: 4 figure
Octahedral tilting, monoclinic phase and the phase diagram of PZT
Anelastic and dielectric spectroscopy measurements on PZT close to the
morphotropic (MPB) and antiferroelectric boundaries provide new insight in some
controversial aspects of its phase diagram. No evidence is found of a border
separating monoclinic (M) from rhombohedral (R) phases, in agreement with
recent structural studies supporting a coexistence of the two phases over a
broad composition range x < 0.5, with the fraction of M increasing toward the
MPB. It is also discussed why the observed maximum of elastic compliance
appears to be due to a rotational instability of the polarisation and therefore
cannot be explained by extrinsic softening from finely twinned R phase alone,
but indicates the presence also of M phase, not necessarily homogeneous.
A new diffuse transition is found within the ferroelectric phase near x ~
0.1, at a temperature T_IT higher than the well established boundary T_T to the
phase with tilted octahedra. It is proposed that around T_IT the octahedra
start rotating in a disordered manner and finally become ordered below T_T. In
this interpretation, the onset temperature for octahedral tilting monotonically
increases up to the antiferroelectric transition of PbZrO3, and the depression
of T_T(x) below x = 0.18 would be a consequence of the partial relieve of the
mismatch between the cation radii with the initial stage of tilting below T_IT.Comment: submitted to J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
First-principles calculation of intrinsic defect formation volumes in silicon
We present an extensive first-principles study of the pressure dependence of
the formation enthalpies of all the know vacancy and self-interstitial
configurations in silicon, in each charge state from -2 through +2. The neutral
vacancy is found to have a formation volume that varies markedly with pressure,
leading to a remarkably large negative value (-0.68 atomic volumes) for the
zero-pressure formation volume of a Frenkel pair (V + I). The interaction of
volume and charge was examined, leading to pressure--Fermi level stability
diagrams of the defects. Finally, we quantify the anisotropic nature of the
lattice relaxation around the neutral defects.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Advanced technologies for future ground-based, laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors
We present a review of modern optical techniques being used and developed for the field of gravitational wave detection. We describe the current state-of-the-art of gravitational waves detector technologies with regard to optical layouts, suspensions and test masses. We discuss the dominant sources and noise in each of these subsystems and the developments that will help mitigate them for future generations of detectors. We very briefly summarise some of the novel astrophysics that will be possible with these upgraded detectors
The mechanical relaxation study of polycrystalline MgCNi3
The mechanical relaxation spectra of a superconducting and a
non-superconducting MgCNi3 samples were measured from liquid nitrogen
temperature to room temperature at frequency of kilohertz. There are two
internal friction peaks (at 300 K labeled as P1 and 125 K as P2) for the
superconducting sample. For the non-superconducting one, the position of P1
shifts to 250 K, while P2 is almost completely depressed. It is found that the
peak position of P2 shifts towards higher temperature under higher measuring
frequency. The calculated activation energy is 0.13eV. We propose an
explanation relating P2 to the carbon atom jumping among the off-center
positions. And further we expect that the behaviors of carbon atoms maybe
correspond to the normal state crossovers around 150 K and 50 K observed by
many other experiments.Comment: 4 figure
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