77 research outputs found
Quasi-Elastic Scattering, Random Fields and phonon-coupling effects in PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3
The low-energy part of the vibration spectrum in PbMgNbO
(PMN) relaxor ferroelectric has been studied by neutron scattering above and
below the Burns temperature, T. The transverse acoustic and the lowest
transverse optic phonons are strongly coupled and we have obtained a model for
this coupling. We observe that the lowest optic branch is always underdamped. A
resolution-limited central peak and quasi-elastic scattering appear in the
vicinity of the Burns temperature. It is shown that it is unlikely that the
quasi-elastic scattering originates from the combined effects of coupling
between TA and TO phonons with an increase of the damping of the TO phonon
below T. The quasi-elastic scattering has a peak as a function of
temperature close to the peak in the dielectric constant while the intensity of
the central peak scattering increases strongly below this temperature. These
results are discussed in terms of a random field model for relaxors
The Structural Phase Transition of the Relaxor Ferroelectric 68%PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-32%PbTiO3
Neutron scattering techniques have been used to study the relaxor
ferroelectric 0.68PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.32PbTiO3 denoted in this paper as
0.68PMN-0.32PT. On cooling, these relaxor ferroelectrics have a long-range
ordered ferroelectric phase and the composition is close to that at which the
ferroelectric structure changes from rhombohedral to tetragonal. It was found
that above the Burns temperature of about 600K, the transverse optic mode and
the transverse acoustic mode are strongly coupled and a model was used to
describe this coupling that gave similar parameters to those obtained for the
coupling in PMN. Below the Burns temperature additional quasi-elastic
scattering was found which increased in intensity as the sample was cooled down
to the ferroelectric transition temperature but then decreased in intensity.
This behaviour is similar to that found in PMN. This scattering is associated
with the dynamic polar nano-regions that occur below the Burns temperature. In
addition to this scattering a strictly elastic resolution limited peak was
observed that was much weaker than the corresponding peak in pure PMN and which
decreased in intensity on cooling below the ferroelectric phase whereas for
PMN, which does not have a long-range ordered ferroelectric phase, the
intensity of this component increased monotonically as the sample was cooled.
The results of our study are compared with the recent measurements of Stock et
al. [PRB 73 064107] who studied 0.4PMN-0.6PT. The results are qualitatively
consistent with the random field model developed to describe the scattering
from PMN
A Neutron Elastic Diffuse Scattering Study of PMN
We have performed elastic diffuse neutron scattering studies on the relaxor
Pb(MgNb)O (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 (10) 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 K.Comment: Submitted to PR
Coexistence of the Critical Slowing Down and Glassy Freezing in Relaxor Ferroelectrics
We have developed a dynamical model for the dielectric response in relaxor
ferroelectrics which explicitly takes into account the coexistence of the
critical slowing down and glassy freezing. The application of the model to the
experiment in PMN allowed for the reconstruction of the nonequilibrium spin
glass state order parameter and its comparison with the results of recent NMR
experiment (Blinc et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, No. 2 (1999)). It is shown that
the degree of the local freezing is rather small even at temperatures where the
field-cooled permittivity exceeds the frequency dependent permittivity by an
order of magnitude. This observation indicates the significant role of the
critical slowing down (accompanying the glass freezing) in the system dynamics.
Also the theory predicts an important interrelationship between the frequency
dependent permittivity and the zero-field-cooled permittivity, which proved to
be consistent with the experiment in PMN (A. Levstik et. al., Phys. Rev. B 57,
11204 (1998))
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
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
Strong Influence of the diffuse component on the lattice dynamics in Pb(MgNb)O
The temperature and zone dependence of the lattice dynamics in
Pb(MgNb)O is characterized using neutron inelastic
scattering. A strong correlation between the diffuse and phonon scattering is
measured. The lattice dynamics in Brillouin zones where the diffuse scattering
is strong is observed to display qualitatively different behavior than those
zones where the diffuse scattering is weak. In the (220) and (200) zones, where
there is a weak diffuse component, the dynamics are well described by coupled
harmonic oscillators. Compared with SrTiO, the coupling is weak and
isotropic, resulting in only a small transfer of spectral weight from one mode
to another. A comparison of the scattering in these zones to the (110) zone,
where a strong diffuse component is present, reveals a strong coupling of the
diffuse (or central) component to the acoustic mode. We speculate that the
coupling to the central peak is the reason for several recent conflicting
interpretations of the lattice dynamics based on data from zones with a strong
diffuse component.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
A Universal Phase Diagram for PMN-xPT and PZN-xPT
The phase diagram of the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 and PbTiO3 solid solution (PMN-xPT)
indicates a rhombohedral ground state for x < 0.32. X-ray powder measurements
by Dkhil et al. show a rhombohedrally split (222) Bragg peak for PMN-10%PT at
80 K. Remarkably, neutron data taken on a single crystal of the same compound
with comparable q-resolution reveal a single resolution-limited (111) peak down
to 50 K, and thus no rhombohedral distortion. Our results suggest that the
structure of the outer layer of these relaxors differs from that of the bulk,
which is nearly cubic, as observed in PZN by Xu et al.Comment: Replaced Fig. 3 with better versio
Development of Ferroelectric Order in Relaxor (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 - xPbTiO3
The microstructure and phase transition in relaxor ferroelectric
Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) and its solid solution with PbTiO3 (PT), PMN-xPT, remain
to be one of the most puzzling issues of solid state science. In the present
work we have investigated the evolution of the phase symmetry in PMN-xPT
ceramics as a function of temperature (20 K < T < 500 K) and composition (0 <=
x <= 0.15) by means of high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction.
Structural analysis based on the experimental data reveals that the
substitution of Ti^4+ for the complex B-site (Mg1/3Nb2/3)^4+ ions results in
the development of a clean rhombohedral phase at a PT-concentration as low as
5%. The results provide some new insight into the development of the
ferroelectric order in PMN-PT, which has been discussed in light of the
kinetics of polar nanoregions and the physical models of the relaxor
ferroelectrics to illustrate the structural evolution from a relaxor to a
ferroelectric state.Comment: Revised version with updated references; 9 pages, 4 figures embedde
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