52 research outputs found
Weak ferromagnetism and short range polar order in NaMnF 3 thin films
The orthorhombically distorted perovskite NaMnF3 has been predicted to become ferroelectric if an a = c distortion of the bulk Pnma structure is imposed. In order to test this prediction, NaMnF3 thin films were grown on SrTiO3 (001) single crystal substrates via molecular beam epitaxy. The best films were smooth and single phase with four different twin domains. In-plane magnetization measurements revealed the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering with weak ferromagnetism below the Néel temperature TN = 66 K. For the dielectric studies, NaMnF3 films were grown on a 30 nm SrRuO3 (001) layer used as a bottom electrode grown via pulsed laser deposition. The complex permittivity as a function of frequency indicated a strong Debye-like relaxation contribution characterized by a distribution of relaxation times. A power-law divergence of the characteristic relaxation time revealed an order-disorder phase transition at 8 K. The slow relaxation dynamics indicated the formation of super-dipoles (superparaelectric moments) that extend over several unit cells, similar to polar nanoregions of relaxor ferroelectrics
A piezoresponse force microscopy study of CaxBa1-xNb2O6 single crystals
Polar structures of CaxBa1-xNb2O6 (CBN100x) single crystals were investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. Increasing Ca content results in decreasing domain size and enhancement of the polar disorder. For the composition with x = 0.32 the characteristic domain size is similar to that reported for relaxor Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 (SBN61). However, decay of an artificial macroscopic domain in CBN32 takes place below the macroscopic transition temperature, contrary to SBN61, where random fields stabilize it above the transition temperature. We can conclude that CBN with 0.26 ≤ x ≤ 0.32 does not display classical relaxor behavior and might be considered as a disordered ferroelectric
Direct measurement of electrocaloric effect in lead-free Ba(SnxTi1-x)O3 ceramics
In this study, we report on investigation of the electrocaloric (EC) effect in lead-free Ba(SnxTi1-x)O3 (BSnT) ceramics with compositions in the range of 0.08 ≤ x ≤ 0.15 by the direct measurement method using a differential scanning calorimeter. The maximum EC temperature change, ΔTEC-max = 0.63 K under an electric field of 2 kV/mm, was observed for the composition with x = 0.11 at ∼44 °C around the multiphase coexistence region. We observed that the EC effect also peaks at transitions between ferroelectric phases of different symmetries. Comparison with the results of indirect EC measurements from our previous work shows that the indirect approach provides reasonable estimations of the magnitude of the largest EC temperature changes and EC strength. However, it fails to describe correctly temperature dependences of the EC effect for the compositions showing relaxor-like behaviour (x = 0.14 and 0.15) because of their non-ergodic nature. Our study provides strong evidence supporting that looking for multiphase ferroelectric materials can be very useful to optimize EC performance
Fixed Volume Effect on Polar Properties and Phase Diagrams of Ferroelectric Semi-ellipsoidal Nanoparticles
For advanced applications in modern industry it is very important to reduce
the volume of ferroelectric nanoparticles without serious deterioration of
their polar properties. In many practically important cases fixed volume
(rather than fixed size) corresponds to realistic technological conditions of
nanoparticles fabrication. The letter is focused on the theoretical study of
the behavior of ferroelectric polarization, paramagnetoelectric coefficient and
phase diagrams of semi-ellipsoidal nanoparticles with fixed volume V. Our
approach combines the Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire phenomenology, classical
electrostatics and elasticity theory. Our results show that the size effects of
the phase diagrams and polarization of semi-ellipsoidal BiFeO3 nanoparticles
nontrivially depends on V. These findings provide a path to optimize the polar
properties of nanoparticles by controlling their phase diagrams at a fixed
volume.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, we added the section IV. Paramagnetoelectric
(PME) coefficient at fixed volume in this version and changed title and
abstract accordingl
Spontaneous and induced ferroelectricity in the BiFe1−xScxO3 perovskite ceramics
High-pressure synthesis method allows obtaining single-phase perovskite
BiFe1-xScxO3 ceramics in the entire concentration range. As-prepared compositions with x from 0.30 to 0.55 have the antipolar orthorhombic Pnma structure
but can be irreversible converted into the polar rhombohedral R3c or the polar
orthorhombic Ima2 phase via annealing at ambient pressure. Microstructure
defects and large conductivity of the high-pressure-synthesized ceramics make it
difficult to study and even verify their ferroelectric properties. These obstacles can
be overcome using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) addressing ferroelectric behavior inside single grains. Herein, the PFM study of the BiFe1-xScxO3
ceramics (0.30 ≤ x ≤ 0.50) is reported. The annealed samples show a strong PFM
contrast. Switching of domain polarity by an electric field confirms the ferroelectric nature of these samples. The as-prepared BiFe0.5Sc0.5O3 ceramics
demonstrate no piezoresponse in accordance with the antipolar character of the
Pnma phase. However, application of a strong enough electric field induces
irreversible transition to the ferroelectric state. The as-prepared BiFe0.7Sc0.3O3
ceramics show coexistence of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric grains without
poling. It is assumed that mechanical stress caused by the sample polishing can
be also a driving force of phase transformation in these materials alongside
temperature and external electric field.publishe
Temperature Effect on the Stability of the Polarized State Created by Local Electric Fields in Strontium Barium Niobate Single Crystals
The stability of ferroelectric domain patterns at the nanoscale has been a topic of much interest for many years. We investigated the relaxation of the polarized state created by application of a local electric field using a conductive tip of a scanning probe microscope for the model uniaxial relaxor system SrxBa1−xNb2O6 (SBN) in its pure and Ce-doped form. The temporal relaxation of the induced PFM contrast was measured at various temperatures. The average value of the induced contrast decreases during heating for all investigated crystals. Below the freezing temperature the induced state remains stable after an initial relaxation. Above the freezing temperature the induced state is unstable and gradually decays with time. The stability of the induced state is strongly affected by the measuring conditions, so continuous scanning results in a faster decay of the poled domain. The obtained effects are attributed to a decrease of the induced polarization and backswitching of the polarized area under the action of the depolarization field
State transition and electrocaloric effect of BaZrTiO: simulation and experiment
The electrocaloric effect (ECE) of BaZrTiO (BZT) is closely
related to the relaxor state transition of the materials. This work presents a
systematic study on the ECE and the state transition of the BZT, using a
combined canonical and microcanonical Monte Carlo simulations based a
lattice-based on a Ginzburg-Landau-type Hamiltonian. For comparison and
verification, experimental measurements have been carried on BTO and BZT
( and ) samples, including the ECE at various temperatures, domain
patterns by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy at room temperature, and the P-E
loops at various temperatures. Results show that the dependency of BZT behavior
of the Zr-concentration can be classified into three different stages. In the
composition range of , ferroelectric domains are visible,
but ECE peak drops with increasing Zr-concentration harshly. In the range of , relaxor features become prominent, and the decrease of
ECE with Zr-concentration is moderate. In the high concentration range of , the material is almost nonpolar, and there is no ECE peak visible.
Results suggest that BZT with certain low range of Zr-concentration around
can be a good candidate with relatively high ECE and
simutaneously wide temperature application range at rather low temperature
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