572 research outputs found
Electrical Characterization of PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 Capacitors
We have conducted a careful study of current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in
fully integrated commercial PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 thin film capacitors with Pt bottom
and Ir/IrO2 top electrodes. Highly reproducible steady state I-V were obtained
at various temperatures over two decades in voltage from current-time data and
analyzed in terms of several common transport models including space charge
limited conduction, Schottky thermionic emission under full and partial
depletion and Poole-Frenkel conduction, showing that the later is the most
plausible leakage mechanism in these high quality films. In addition,
ferroelectric hysteresis loops and capacitance-voltage data were obtained over
a large range of temperatures and discussed in terms of a modified
Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory accounting for space charge effects.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Space Charge Effects in Ferroelectric Thin Films
The effects of space charges on hysteresis loops and field distributions in
ferroelectrics have been investigated numerically using the phenomenological
Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory. Cases with the ferroelectric fully and
partially depleted have been considered. In general, increasing the number of
charged impurities results in a lowering of the polarization and coercive field
values. Squarer loops were observed in the partially depleted cases and a
method was proposed to identify fully depleted samples experimentally from
dielectric and polarization measurements alone. Unusual field distributions
found for higher dopant concentrations have some interesting implications for
leakage mechanisms and limit the range of validity of usual semiconductor
equations for carrier transport.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figure
Effect of Sb and MnO2-Doping on Phase Transitions, Crystal Structure, Thermal, Dielectric, Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Properties of Na0.5K0.5NbO3 Ceramics
Lead-free ceramics of Na0.5K0.5Nb1-xSbxO3 (NKNS) and Na0.5K0.5Nb1-xSbxO3 + 0.5 mol%MnO2 (NKNS + 0.5 mol%MnO2)
(0 < x < 0.06) ceramics were prepared by a conventional solid-state hot pressing method. The ceramics possess a single-phase
perovskite structure with orthorhombic symmetry. Microstructural examination revealed that Mn doping of NKNS leads to improvement
of densification. The cubic-tetragonal and tetragonal-orthorhombic phase transitions of NKNS shifted to higher and
lower temperature, respectively after introduction of Mn ion. Besides, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were improved.
The results were discussed in term of difference in both ionic size and electronegativity of Nb5+ and Sb5+ and improvement of
densification after Mn ion doping
Strain gradient induced polarization in SrTiO3 single crystals
Piezoelectricity is inherent only in noncentrosymmetric materials, but a
piezoelectric response can also be obtained in centrosymmetric crystals if
subjected to inhomogeneous deformation. This phenomenon, known as
flexoelectricity, affects the functional properties of insulators, particularly
thin films of high permittivity materials. We have measured
strain-gradient-induced polarization in single crystals of paraelectric
SrTiO as a function of temperature and orientation down to and below the
105 K phase transition. Estimates were obtained for all the components of the
flexoelectric tensor, and calculations based on these indicate that local
polarization around defects in SrTiO may exceed the largest ferroelectric
polarizations. A sign reversal of the flexoelectric response detected below the
phase transition suggests that the ferroelastic domain walls of SrTiO may
be polar.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Dust Grain-Size Distributions From MRN to MEM
Employing the Maximum Entropy Method algorithm, we fit interstellar
extinction measurements which span the wavelength range 0.125-3 micron. We
present a uniform set of MEM model fits, all using the same grain materials,
optical constants and abundance constraints. In addition, we are taking
advantage of improved UV and IR data and better estimates of the gas-to-dust
ratio. The model fits cover the entire range of extinction properties that have
been seen in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. The grain models employed
for this presentation are the simplistic homogeneous spheres models (i.e.,
Mathis, Rumpl, & Nordsieck 1977) with two (graphite, silicate) or three
(graphite, silicate, amorphous carbon) components. Though such usage is only a
first step, the results do provide interesting insight into the use of grain
size as a diagnostic of dust environment. We find that the SMC Bar extinction
curve cannot be fit using carbon grains alone. This is a challenge to the
recent observational result indicating little silicon depletion in the SMC.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Diodes with Breakdown Voltages Enhanced by the Metal-Insulator Transition of LaAlO-SrTiO Interfaces
Using the metal-insulator transition that takes place as a function of
carrier density at the LaAlO-SrTiO interface, oxide diodes have been
fabricated with room-temperature breakdown voltages of up to 200 V. With
applied voltage, the capacitance of the diodes changes by a factor of 150. The
diodes are robust and operate at temperatures up to 270 C
Negative capacitance in multidomain ferroelectric superlattices
The stability of spontaneous electrical polarization in ferroelectrics is fundamental to many of their current applications, which range from the simple electric cigarette lighter to non-volatile random access memories1. Research on nanoscale ferroelectrics reveals that their behaviour is profoundly different from that in bulk ferroelectrics, which could lead to new phenomena with potential for future devices2, 3, 4. As ferroelectrics become thinner, maintaining a stable polarization becomes increasingly challenging. On the other hand, intentionally destabilizing this polarization can cause the effective electric permittivity of a ferroelectric to become negative5, enabling it to behave as a negative capacitance when integrated in a heterostructure. Negative capacitance has been proposed as a way of overcoming fundamental limitations on the power consumption of field-effect transistors6. However, experimental demonstrations of this phenomenon remain contentious7. The prevalent interpretations based on homogeneous polarization models are difficult to reconcile with the expected strong tendency for domain formation8, 9, but the effect of domains on negative capacitance has received little attention5, 10, 11, 12. Here we report negative capacitance in a model system of multidomain ferroelectric–dielectric superlattices across a wide range of temperatures, in both the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. Using a phenomenological model, we show that domain-wall motion not only gives rise to negative permittivity, but can also enhance, rather than limit, its temperature range. Our first-principles-based atomistic simulations provide detailed microscopic insight into the origin of this phenomenon, identifying the dominant contribution of near-interface layers and paving the way for its future exploitation
FUSE Measurements of Far Ultraviolet Extinction. I. Galactic Sight Lines
We present extinction curves that include data down to far ultraviolet
wavelengths (FUV; 1050 - 1200 A) for nine Galactic sight lines. The FUV
extinction was measured using data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic
Explorer. The sight lines were chosen for their unusual extinction properties
in the infrared through the ultraviolet; that they probe a wide range of dust
environments is evidenced by the large spread in their measured ratios of
total-to-selective extinction, R_V = 2.43 - 3.81. We find that extrapolation of
the Fitzpatrick & Massa relationship from the ultraviolet appears to be a good
predictor of the FUV extinction behavior. We find that predictions of the FUV
extinction based upon the Cardelli, Clayton & Mathis (CCM) dependence on R_V
give mixed results. For the seven extinction curves well represented by CCM in
the infrared through ultraviolet, the FUV extinction is well predicted in three
sight lines, over-predicted in two sight lines, and under-predicted in 2 sight
lines. A Maximum Entropy Method analysis using a simple three component grain
model shows that seven of the nine sight lines in the study require a larger
fraction of grain materials to be in dust when FUV extinction is included in
the models. Most of the added grain material is in the form of small (radii <
200 A) grains.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages with
7 figure
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