108 research outputs found
Domain walls of ferroelectric BaTiO3 within the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire phenomenological model
Mechanically compatible and electrically neutral domain walls in tetragonal,
orthorhombic and rhombohedral ferroelectric phases of BaTiO3 are systematically
investigated in the framework of the phenomenological
Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire (GLD) model with parameters of Ref. [Hlinka and
Marton, Phys. Rev. 74, 104104 (2006)]. Polarization and strain profiles within
domain walls are calculated numerically and within an approximation leading to
the quasi-one-dimensional analytic solutions applied previously to the
ferroelectric walls of the tetragonal phase [W. Cao and L.E. Cross, Phys. Rev.
44, 5 (1991)]. Domain wall thicknesses and energy densities are estimated for
all mechanically compatible and electrically neutral domain wall species in the
entire temperature range of ferroelectric phases. The model suggests that the
lowest energy walls in the orthorhombic phase of BaTiO3 are the 90-degree and
60-degree walls. In the rhombohedral phase, the lowest energy walls are the
71-degree and 109-degree walls. All these ferroelastic walls have thickness
below 1 nm except for the 90-degree wall in the tetragonal phase and the
60-degree S-wall in the orthorhombic phase, for which the larger thickness of
the order of 5 nm was found. The antiparallel walls of the rhombohedral phase
have largest energy and thus they are unlikely to occur. The calculation
indicates that the lowest energy structure of the 109-degree wall and few other
domain walls in the orthorhombic and rhombohedral phases resemble Bloch-like
walls known from magnetism.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
Structural phase transitions and their influence on Cu+ mobility in superionic ferroelastic Cu6PS5I single crystals
The structural origin of Cu+ ions conductivity in Cu6PS5I single crystals is
described in terms of structural phase transitions studied by X-ray
diffraction, polarizing microscope and calorimetric measurements. Below the
phase transition at Tc=(144-169) K Cu6PS5I belongs to monoclinic, ferroelastic
phase, space group Cc. Above Tc crystal changes the symmetry to cubic
superstructure, space group F-43c (a=19.528); finally at 274K disordering of
the Cu+ ions increases the symmetry to F-43m, (a=9.794). The phase transition
at 274K coincides well with a strong anomaly in electrical conductivity
observed in the Arrhenius plot. Diffusion paths for Cu+ ions are evidenced by
means of the atomic displacement factors and split model. Influence of the
copper stechiometry on the Tc is also discussed.Comment: conference pape
Easy collective polarization switching in ferroelectrics
The actual mechanism of polarization switching in ferroelectrics remains a
puzzle for many decades, since the usually estimated barrier for nucleation and
growth is insurmountable ("paradox of the coercive field"). To analyze the
mechanisms of the nucleation we consider the exactly solvable case of a
ferroelectric film with a "dead" layer at the interface with electrodes. The
classical nucleation is easier in this case but still impossible, since the
calculated barrier is huge. We have found that the {\em interaction} between
the nuclei is, however, long range, hence one has to study an {\em ensemble} of
the nuclei. We show that there are the ensembles of small (embryonic) nuclei
that grow {\em without the barrier}. We submit that the interaction between
nuclei is the key point for solving the paradox.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX 3.1 with one eps-figure. Corrected discussion of
single stripe and cylindrical nuclei, and their interaction. The estimate for
equilibrium density of embryonic nuclei is added. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Letter
Abrupt appearance of the domain pattern and fatigue of thin ferroelectric films
We study the domain structure in ferroelectric thin films with a `passive'
layer (material with damaged ferroelectric properties) at the interface between
the film and electrodes within a continuous medium approximation. An abrupt
transition from a monodomain to a polydomain state has been found with the
increase of the `passive' layer thickness . The domain width changes very
quickly at the transition (exponentially with ). We have estimated the
dielectric response (the slope of the hysteresis loop) in the
`fatigued' multidomain state and found that it is in agreement with experiment,
assuming realistic parameters of the layer. We derive a simple universal
relation for the dielectric response, which scales as , involving only the
properties of the passive layer. This relation qualitatively reproduces the
evolution of the hysteresis loop in fatigued samples and it could be tested
with controlled experiments. It is expected that the coercive field should
increase with decreasing lateral size of the film. We believe that specific
properties of the domain structure under bias voltage in ferroelectrics with a
passive layer can resolve the long-standing `paradox of the coercive field'.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX 3.1 with two eps-figures. Minor amendments. To appear
in Phys. Rev. Letter
Folding catastrophes due to viscosity in multiferroic domains : implications for room-temperature multiferroic switching
Unusual domains with curved walls and failure to satisfy the Landau–Lifshitz-Kittel Law are modeled as folding catastrophes (saddle-node bifurcations). This description of ballistic motion in a viscous medium is based upon early work by Dawber et al 2003 Appl. Phys. Lett . 82 436. It suggests that ferroelectric films can exhibit folds or vortex patterns but not both.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Characterizing degradation of palm swamp peatlands from space and on the ground: an exploratory study in the Peruvian Amazon
Peru has the fourth largest area of peatlands in the Tropics. Its most representative land cover on peat is a Mauritia flexuosa dominated palm swamp (thereafter called dense PS), which has been under human pressure over decades due to the high demand for the M. flexuosa fruit often collected by cutting down the entire palm. Degradation of these carbon dense forests can substantially affect emissions of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. The first objective of this research was to assess the impact of dense PS degradation on forest structure and biomass carbon stocks. The second one was to explore the potential of mapping the distribution of dense PS with different degradation levels using remote sensing data and methods. Biomass stocks were measured in 0.25 ha plots established in areas of dense PS with low (n = 2 plots), medium (n = 2) and high degradation (n = 4). We combined field and remote sensing data from the satellites Landsat TM and ALOS/PALSAR to discriminate between areas typifying dense PS with low, medium and high degradation and terra firme, restinga and mixed PS (not M. flexuosa dominated) forests. For this we used a Random Forest machine learning classification algorithm. Results suggest a shift in forest composition from palm to woody tree dominated forest following degradation. We also found that human intervention in dense PS translates into significant reductions in tree carbon stocks with initial (above and below-ground) biomass stocks (135.4 ± 4.8 Mg C ha−1) decreased by 11 and 17% following medium and high degradation. The remote sensing analysis indicates a high separability between dense PS with low degradation from all other categories. Dense PS with medium and high degradation were highly separable from most categories except for restinga forests and mixed PS. Results also showed that data from both active and passive remote sensing sensors are important for the mapping of dense PS degradation. Overall land cover classification accuracy was high (91%). Results from this pilot analysis are encouraging to further explore the use of remote sensing data and methods for monitoring dense PS degradation at broader scales in the Peruvian Amazon. Providing precise estimates on the spatial extent of dense PS degradation and on biomass and peat derived emissions is required for assessing national emissions from forest degradation in Peru and is essential for supporting initiatives aiming at reducing degradation activities
Modeling of dielectric hysteresis loops in ferroelectric semiconductors with charged defects
We have proposed the phenomenological description of dielectric hysteresis
loops in ferroelectric semiconductors with charged defects and prevailing
extrinsic conductivity. Exactly we have modified Landau-Ginsburg approach and
shown that the macroscopic state of the aforementioned inhomogeneous system can
be described by three coupled equations for three order parameters. Both the
experimentally observed coercive field values well below the thermodynamic one
and the various hysteresis loop deformations (constricted and double loops)
have been obtained in the framework of our model. The obtained results
quantitatively explain the ferroelectric switching in such ferroelectric
materials as thick PZT films.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, sent to Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte
Qualidade do aço inoxidável martensítico do tipo AISI-420 utilizado na confecção de ferramentas cirúrgicas
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