404 research outputs found
Uniaxial-stress induced phase transitions in [001]c-poled 0.955Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.045PbTiO3
First-order, rhombohedral to orthorhombic, stress-induced phase transitions
have been evidenced by bulk charge-stress measurements and X-ray diffraction
derived lattice strain measurements in [001]c-poled PZN-4.5PT. The transitions
are induced by uniaxial, compressive loads applied either along or
perpendicular to the poling direction. In each case, they occur via rotation of
the polar vector in the Cm monoclinic plane and the induced lattice strain is
hysteretic yet reversible. Although no depoling is observed in the transverse
mode, net depolarization is observed under longitudinal stress which is
important for the use of [001]c-poled PZN-PT and PMN-PT single crystals in
Tonpilz-type underwater projectors.Comment: To be published in Applied Physics Letters, 16 pages, 3 figure
Rotator and extender ferroelectrics: Importance of the shear coefficient to the piezoelectric properties of domain-engineered crystals and ceramics
The importance of a high shear coefficient d15 (or d24) to the piezoelectric
properties of domain-engineered and polycrystalline ferroelectrics is
discussed. The extent of polarization rotation, as a mechanism of piezoelectric
response, is directly correlated to the shear coefficient. The terms "rotator"
and "extender" are introduced to distinguish the contrasting behaviors of
crystals such as 4mm BaTiO3 and PbTiO3. In "rotator" ferroelectrics, where d15
is high relative to the longitudinal coefficient d33, polarization rotation is
the dominant mechanism of piezoelectric response; the maximum longitudinal
piezoelectric response is found away from the polar axis. In "extender"
ferroelectrics, d15 is low and the collinear effect dominates; the maximum
piezoelectric response is found along the polar axis. A variety of 3m, mm2 and
4mm ferroelectrics, with various crystal structures based on oxygen octahedra,
are classified in this way. It is shown that the largest piezoelectric
anisotropies d15/d33 are always found in 3m crystals; this is a result of the
intrinsic electrostrictive anisotropy of the constituent oxygen octahedra.
Finally, for a given symmetry, the piezoelectric anisotropy increases close to
ferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transitions; this includes morphotropic phase
boundaries and temperature induced polymorphic transitions.Comment: accepted in J. Appl. Phy
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
Bichiral structure of feroelectric domain wall driven by flexoelectricity
The influence of flexoelectric coupling on the internal structure of neutral
domain walls in tetragonal phase of perovskite ferroelectrics is studied. The
effect is shown to lower the symmetry of 180-degree walls which are oblique
with respect to the cubic crystallographic axes, while {100} and {110} walls
stay "untouched". Being of the Ising type in the absence of the flexoelectric
interaction, the oblique domain walls acquire a new polarization component with
a structure qualitatively different from the classical Bloch-wall structure. In
contrast to the Bloch-type walls, where the polarization vector draws a helix
on passing from one domain to the other, in the flexoeffect-affected wall, the
polarization rotates in opposite directions on the two sides of the wall and
passes through zero in its center. Since the resulting polarization profile is
invariant upon inversion with respect to the wall center it does not brake the
wall symmetry in contrast to the classical Bloch-type walls. The flexoelectric
coupling lower the domain wall energy and gives rise to its additional
anisotropy that is comparable to that conditioned by the elastic anisotropy.
The atomic orderof- magnitude estimates shows that the new polarization
component P2 may be comparable with spontaneous polarization Ps, thus
suggesting that, in general, the flexoelectric coupling should be mandatory
included in domain wall simulations in ferroelectrics. Calculations performed
for barium titanate yields the maximal value of the P2, which is much smaller
than that of the spontaneous polarization. This smallness is attributed to an
anomalously small value of a component of the "strain-polarization"
elecrostictive tensor in this material
Compositional Inversion Symmetry Breaking in Ferroelectric Perovskites
Ternary cubic perovskite compounds of the form A_(1/3)A'_(1/3)A''_(1/3)BO_3
and AB_(1/3)B'_(1/3)B''_(1/3)O_3, in which the differentiated cations form an
alternating series of monolayers, are studied using first-principles methods.
Such compounds are representative of a possible new class of materials in which
ferroelectricity is perturbed by compositional breaking of inversion symmetry.
For isovalent substitution on either sublattice, the ferroelectric double-well
potential is found to persist, but becomes sufficiently asymmetric that
minority domains may no longer survive. The strength of the symmetry breaking
is enormously stronger for heterovalent substitution, so that the double-well
behavior is completely destroyed. Possible means of tuning between these
behaviors may allow for the optimization of resulting materials properties.Comment: 4 pages, two-column style with 3 postscript figures embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#sai_is
Correlation Between Structure And C-Afm Contrast Of 180-Degree Domain Walls In Rhombohedral Bati03
Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory we describe 180-degree domain wall
structure, intrinsic energy and carrier accumulation in rhombohedral phase of
BaTiO3 as a function of the wall orientation and flexoelectric coupling
strength. Two types of domain wall structures (phases of the wall) exist
depending on the wall orientation. The low-energy 'achiral' phase occurs in the
vicinity of the {110} wall orientation and has odd polarization profile
invariant with respect to inversion about the wall center. The second 'chiral'
phase occurs around {211} wall orientations and corresponds to mixed parity
domain walls that may be of left-handed or right-handed chirality. The
transformation between the phases is abrupt, accompanied with 20-30% change of
the domain wall thickness and can happen at fixed wall orientation with
temperature change. We suggest that the phase transition may be detected
through domain wall thickness change or by c-AFM. The structure of the domain
wall is correlated to its conductivity through polarization component normal to
the domain wall, which causes free carriers accumulation. Depending on the
temperature and flexoelectric coupling strength relative conductivity of the
wall becomes at least one order of magnitude higher than in the single-domain
region, creating c-AFM contrast enhancement pronounced and detectable.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, Supplementary material
Electrostatic model of atomic ordering in complex perovskite alloys
We present a simple ionic model which successfully reproduces the various
types of compositional long-range order observed in a large class of complex
insulating perovskite alloys. The model assumes that the driving mechanism
responsible for the ordering is simply the electrostatic interaction between
the different ionic species. A possible new explanation for the anomalous
long-range order observed in some Pb relaxor alloys, involving the proposed
existence of a small amount of Pb^4+ on the B sublattice, is suggested by an
analysis of the model.Comment: 4 pages, two-column style with 1 postscript figure embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#lb_orde
Near-field examination of perovskite-based superlenses and superlens-enhanced probe-object coupling
A planar slab of negative index material works as a superlens with
sub-diffraction-limited imaging resolution, since propagating waves are focused
and, moreover, evanescent waves are reconstructed in the image plane. Here, we
demonstrate a superlens for electric evanescent fields with low losses using
perovskites in the mid-infrared regime. The combination of near-field
microscopy with a tunable free-electron laser allows us to address precisely
the polariton modes, which are critical for super-resolution imaging. We
spectrally study the lateral and vertical distributions of evanescent waves
around the image plane of such a lens, and achieve imaging resolution of
wavelength/14 at the superlensing wavelength. Interestingly, at certain
distances between the probe and sample surface, we observe a maximum of these
evanescent fields. Comparisons with numerical simulations indicate that this
maximum originates from an enhanced coupling between probe and object, which
might be applicable for multifunctional circuits, infrared spectroscopy, and
thermal sensors.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, published as open access article in Nature
Communications (see http://www.nature.com/ncomms/
Dielectric properties of PbBO₃ perovskites with mixed-valence substitution in the B position
Dielectric properties of PbBO₃ perovskites with mixed-valence substitution in the B position / V. G. Zalesskiĭ, V. V. LemanovThis paper reports on the synthesis of PbBO3 perovskites with mixed-valence substitution in the B position in which the number of ions n in different valence states occupying oxygen octahedra varies from 2 to 6. The dielectric properties of ceramic samples have been studied at frequencies in the range from 12 Hz to 100 kHz and in the temperature interval 77–450 K. The new compounds have been shown to possess relaxor properties. Original Russian Text © V.G. Zalesskiĭ, V.V. Lemanov, 2010, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2010, Vol. 52, No. 7, pp. 1365–1369
Germplasm characterization, association and clustering for salinity and waterlogging tolerance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum)
A study was conducted for characterizing germplasm, estimating interrelationship of traits and clustering of wheat genotypes in five environments covering salinity, waterlogging and neutral soils using, 100 elite but diverse genotypes with eight checks of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). These genotypes were planted under five distinct environments during rabi 2009-10 under augmented design in four blocks wherein each check was repeated twice. The genetic variance, correlation coefficients and cluster analysis were carried out for assessment of lines through seven metric traits, namely, plant stand, plant height, days to heading, days to maturity, tillers/meter, 1000-grain weight and grain yield. Analysis of variance revealed wide variability for most of the traits under study. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was high for tillers/meter and grain yield, while high heritability coupled with high genetic advance were found for tillers/meter, 1000-grain weight and grain yield under all five environments. At phenotypic level, positive and significant correlation coefficients revealed that under all the normal and stressed environments used here, grain yield is directly influenced by plant stand, tillers/meter and thousand grain weights. Significant and positive correlations were estimated between tillers/meter (r = 0.31 to 0.66), and 1000 grain weight (r = 0.24 to 0.61) with grain yield under all five environments. Under waterlogged conditions there were significant negative correlations of plant height to grain yield (r = –0.38 to –0.39) across two sites. These results, thereby suggests that yield improvement in bread wheat could be possible by emphasizing these traits through selection in these diverse environments. On the basis of D2 values of pooled data, 108 genotypes were grouped into four clusters. In all, only 26 lines were found common in cluster III under two waterlogging environments (Faizabad and Karnal), while only 15 lines were common in cluster I under non waterlogging (Faizabad, CSSRI and DWR) conditions. These results indicate different constraints exist in waterlogged and non-waterlogged condition at these sites. Genetic diversity available for these traits may be utilized for yield improvement in bread wheat under different soil conditions through planned hybridization and selection in target environments
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