Lattice dynamics, ferroelectric and antiferroeelctric instabilities, and the ferroelectric phase transition in disordered PbB′1/2B″1/2O3 (B′ = Ga, In, Lu; B″ = Nb, Ta) solid solutions

The lattice vibration spectra, rf permittivity, and dynamic Born charges of disordered PbB′_1/2B″_1/2O₃ (B′ = Ga, In, Lu; B″ = Nb, Ta) solid solutions are calculated in terms of the generalized Gordon-Kim model. All the compounds are found to have soft modes related to the center (Γ₁₅) and boundary point R (R ₁₅) of the Brillouin zone; the frequencies of these modes are close. The ferroelectric phase transition temperatures and the spontaneous polarization in the ferroelectric phase are calculated for the solid solutions using a model Hamiltonian in the local mode approximation and the Monte Carlo method. These temperatures for the tantalum compounds are found to be higher than for the niobium compounds, and temperature t _s increases with the atomic number of ion B′. A model where the antiferroelectric state is related to the condensation of modes Γ₁₅ and R ₁₅ is proposed. It is found that, for all compounds except for PbSc_1/2Nb_1/2O₃ and PbSc_1/2Ta_1/2O₃, the ferroelectric phase, which is only related to the condensation of mode R ₁₅, and the antiferroelectric phase have similar energies. In PbIn_1/2Ta_1/2O₃, the antiferroelectric phase turns out to be energetically favorable.     

Structures and phase transitions in some Pb2B′B″O6 complex perovskite-type compounds

In order to study the influence of substitutions and of the ionic radii of B’ ions on structure and phase transitions, we present some physical measurements and data on Pb₂B′B″O₆ (B”=W, Nb, Mo) complex perovskite compounds. By Mn and Fe substitution for Mg in Pb₂MgWO₆ compound a change in lattice parameters and shift of antiferroelectric transition temperature is observed. It appears that in all three series of compounds a linear dependence between ferroelectric or antiferroelectric transition temperature and B’ ionic radii is observed.     

Elastic properties of the RIV-RIII rotator phases of alkanes

A model free energy has been constructed to describe the R_IV-R_III rotator phase transition in alkanes in terms of the elastic strains and order parameter. The conditions for the R_IV-R_III phase transition are discussed. From the free energy, the order parameter and the elastic strains are determined. The model free energy describes the first or second order character of the R_IV-R_III transition depending on the strength of the coupling. The elastic properties in the vicinity of the R_IV-R_III transition are discussed on the basis of a free energy expansion. The temperature dependence of the elastic constants is calculated on both sides of the transition. The coupling between the order parameter and elastic stains is shown to have a crucial influence on the phase behavior and the order of the transition.     

Phase transition in CdHfO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The phase transition from an orthorhombic phase (space group Pnma) to a rhombohedral phase (space group R3m) of the CdHfO₃ hafnate is investigated using methods of structural analysis. It is shown that crystal lattices of both phases contain polar structural units (octahedra, cubooctahedra). On this basis, it is assumed that the orthorhombic and rhombohedral phases of the CdHfO₃ compound are the antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phases, respectively.     

Ti-doping induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition and electrical properties in Sm-PbZrO3 thin films

The antiferroelectric (Pb_0.985Sm_0.01) (Zr_1-xTi_x)O₃ (Ti-PSZO) thin films were synthesized on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates using a chemical solution deposition method. The films were crystallized in the perovskite phase with a preferential orientation along (111) direction. With Ti doping in PSZO, a gradual transformation from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition was noticed at room temperature owing to the Ti doping induced lattice distortion. The phase transition has been confirmed through the P - E hysteresis loops, X-ray diffraction (peak shifting), capacitance-voltage measurements, and Raman scattering analysis. The thin film with Ti = 0.15 doping displayed a ferroelectric behavior with high dielectric constant and large dielectric tunability of about 62%. Also, Ti doping altered the Curie temperature (T_c) and enhanced the order of dielectric diffuseness. It is believed that Ti-doping in PSZO is an effective way to induce an antiferroelectric - ferroelectric phase transition and to tailor the electrical characteristics of PSZO thin films.     

Antiferroelectric films of deuterated betaine phosphate

Thin films of partially deuterated betaine phosphate have been grown by the evaporation on Al₂O₃(110) and NdGaO₃(001) substrates with a preliminarily deposited structure of interdigitated electrodes. The grown films have a polycrystalline block structure with characteristic dimensions of blocks of the order of 0.1–1.5 mm. The degree of deuteration of the films D varies in the range of 20–50%. It has been found that, at the antiferroelectric phase transition temperature T_c^afe = 100–114 K, the fabricated structures exhibit an anomaly of the electrical capacitance C, which is not accompanied by a change in the dielectric loss tangent tanδ. The strong-signal dielectric response is characterized by the appearance of a ferroelectric nonlinearity at temperatures T >T_c^afe, which is transformed into an antiferroelectric nonlinearity at T <T_c^afe. With a further decrease in the temperature, double dielectric hysteresis loops appear in the antiferroelectric phase. The dielectric properties of the films have been described within the framework of the Landau-type thermodynamic model taking into account the biquadratic coupling ξP²η² between the polar order parameter P and the nonpolar order parameter η with a positive coefficient ξ. The E–T phase diagram has been constructed.     

Dielectric properties of LC mixture with induced antiferroelectric phase

Mixture of two liquid crystalline components exhibits the antiferroelectric phase in a broad temperature range at room temperatures, though the two components separately do not show an antiferroelectric phase in a temperature range applied. The dielectric spectroscopy technique combined with measurements of the selective light reflection was used for identification and characterization of the phases and subphases existing in the mixture. In the SmC*_A phase, the low frequency mode characteristic of antiferroelectric phase has been detected. In the broad temperature range between SmC*_A and SmA* phases, no relaxation mode has been detected. The soft mode registered near the phase transition to SmA* phase follows the Curie-Weiss law.     

Raman spectroscopic study of tris-sarcosine calcium chloride in the antiferroelectric phase

The polarized Raman spectra of (CH₃NHCH₂COOH)₃CaCl₂ (TSCC) have been obtained applying hydrostatic pressure in the paraelectric, ferroelectric and in the pressure-induced antiferroelectric phase. The phase transition between the paraelectric or the ferroelectric and the antiferroelectric phase appears to be of first order. No cell doubling could be observed in the antiferroelectric phase. The space group $\text{P2}{}_1\text{a (C}{}^5{}_{\mathrm{2h}}\text{)}$ for TSCC in this phase is compatible with our experimental results. The pressure-dependence of the Raman-active soft mode is discussed qualitatively.     

Effect of Sn substitution on the elastic anomalies and phase transition behaviors of antiferroelectric PbHfO3 single crystals studied by Brillouin scattering

The phase transition sequence of a PbHf_0.7Sn_0.3O₃ single crystal was investigated by using Brillouin spectroscopy. The longitudinal acoustic mode showed three distinct changes at ∼370 K, ∼455 K and ∼495 K which corresponded to the antiferroelectric 1 → antiferroelectric 2 → intermediate → paraelectric phase transitions upon heating. The paraelectric phase was characterized by softening acoustic mode, increasing acoustic damping and the appearance of quasielastic central peaks which were observed upon approaching the phase transition temperature. The relaxation times derived from the acoustic mode anomalies and the central peak were consistent with each other and showed a slowing-down behavior. These precursor phenomena were attributed to the polar clusters having broken inversion symmetry. The substitution of Hf with Sn induced a very soft intermediate phase between the paraelectric and the antiferroelectric phases, where the longitudinal acoustic mode exhibited the lowest mode frequency along with substantially high acoustic damping. The transverse acoustic mode, which was observed in the two antiferroelectric phases, did not appear in the intermediate phase. These results indicated that the average symmetry of the intermediate phase may be cubic consisting of fine ferroelastic domains.     

Dielectric measurements of new antiferroelectric liquid crystals

Three new pure antiferroelectric materials, synthesized at the Military University of Technology (MUT), were investigated by dielectric means. Clear relaxation modes were detected, i.e., Soft, Goldstone, low frequency in-phase (P_L) as well high frequency anti-phase (P_H) modes for paraelectric Sm A*phase, ferroelectric Sm C* phase and antiferroelectric Sm C_A* phase, respectively. Additionally, a high relaxation mode in Sm C_A* was found. The relaxation frequencies f_R of the observed modes were calculated from Cole-Cole diagrams.     

Structural aspects of the antiferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in double perovskite Pb2MgWO6 at high pressures and temperatures

The crystal structure of antiferroelectric Pb₂MgWO₆ has been studied using neutron diffraction at high pressures to 5.4 GPa at room temperature and energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction at high pressures to 4 GPa in the temperature range 300–400 K. At normal conditions, in Pb₂MgWO₆, there is an antiferroelectric phase with the crystal structure described by the orthorhombic symmetry with space group Pnma. At temperature T = 313 K and normal pressure or at room temperature and pressure P ～ 0.9 GPa, the crystal under-goes a structural phase transition to the cubic phase with space group $Fm\bar 3m$ (paraelectric phase). The temperature and pressure dependences of the lattice parameters, unit cell volume, and interatomic bond lengths have been obtained, and the thermal expansion coefficients and the bulk moduli have been calculated for the antiferroelectric and paraelectric phases of Pb₂MgWO₆.     

Lattice dynamics and statistical mechanics of the Fm3m → I4/m structural phase transition in Rb2KInF6

The static and dynamic properties of cubic Rb₂KInF₆ crystals with elpasolite structure are calculated using a nonempirical method. Calculations are performed within a microscopic ionic-crystal model taking into account the deformation and polarization of ions. The deformation parameters of ions are determined by minimizing the total energy of the crystal. The calculated equilibrium lattice parameters agree satisfactorily with the experimental data. It is found that in the cubic phase there are vibrational modes that are unstable everywhere in the Brillouin zone. The eigenvectors of the unstablest mode at the center of the Brillouin zone of the cubic phase are associated with the displacements of F ions and correspond to rotations of InF₆ octahedra. Condensation of this mode leads to a tetragonal distortion of the structure. In order to describe the Fm3m → I4/m phase transition, an effective Hamiltonian is constructed under the assumption that the soft mode whose eigenvector corresponds to octahedron rotation is local and coupled with homogeneous elastic strains. The parameters of the effective Hamiltonian are determined using the calculated crystal energy for the distorted structures due to soft-mode condensation. The thermodynamic properties of the system with this model Hamiltonian are investigated using the Monte Carlo method. The phase transition temperature is calculated to be 550 K, which is twice its experimental value (283 K). The tetragonal phase remains stable down to T=0 K; the effective Hamiltonian used in this paper thus fails to describe the second phase transition (to the monoclinic phase). Thus, the transition to the tetragonal phase occurs for the most part through octahedron rotations; however, additional degrees of freedom, first of all, the displacements of Rb ions, should be included into the effective Hamiltonian in order to describe the transition to the monoclinic phase.     

静水压下锆锡钛酸铅铁电陶瓷相变和介电性能研究

研究了铌掺杂锆锡钛酸铅铁电陶瓷Pb_0.99Nb_0.02[(Zr_0.90Sn_0.10)_0.96Ti_0.04]_0.98O₃(PZST 90/10-4-2Nb)在静水压(0-300 MPa)下的电荷释放量和介电性能. 对压力诱导的低温铁电三方(F_R(LT))→反铁电正交(A_O)相变进行了研究. PZST 90/10-4-2Nb铁电陶瓷分为未极化、极化和压力去极化三种. 极化PZST 90/10-4-2Nb陶瓷F_R(LT)→A_O相变过程中,电荷释放量为29.3 μC/cm²,相变压力为140 MPa. 介电性能表明:极化PZST 90/10-4-2Nb陶瓷相变压力为136 MPa,而未极化陶瓷相变压力为104 MPa,压力去极化陶瓷未表现出明显的相变特征. 关键词： 静水压 铁电陶瓷 相变 介电     

Influence of the degree of long-range atomic order on parameters of the solid solution and the granular structure of the Pd3Fe alloy with superstructure L12

It has been established using X-ray structural analysis and scanning electron microscopy that the lattice parameter and total root-mean-square (rms) atomic displacements increase in the Pd₃Fe polycrystal-line alloy during the A1 → L1₂ phase transition and with an increase in the degree of long-range atomic order, while the microdistortions of the crystal lattice and the fraction of the Σ3 twin boundaries in the spectrum of special boundaries decrease; the latter leads to strengthening the texture.     

Calculation of phase diagrams for solid solutions of ferroelectrics

The integral equations for calculating ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phase transition temperatures, order parameters, and critical concentrations of solid solution components are derived. The electric dipoles randomly distributed in the system are treated as sources of random fields. The random field distribution function is constructed taking into account the contribution of nonlinear effects and the differences in the dipole orientations for different solid solution components. The dependence of the phase transition temperature on the composition of a binary solid solution in the ferroelectric-antiferroelectric and ferroelectric-paraelectric systems is calculated. Numerical calculations are carried out for the PbTi_xZr_1?x O₃ and BaZr_xTi_1?x O₃ solid solutions. The results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental phase diagrams of these systems. Analysis of the results indicates that any solid solution containing ferroelectric (antiferroelectric) and paraelectric components transforms into a relaxor state at sufficiently high concentrations of the paraelectric component.     

Low-temperature phase transformations in weakly doped quantum paraelectrics: novel features and quantum reentrant dipolar glass state in KTa0.982Nb0.018O3

An unusual sequence of phase transitions (PT) and reentrant dipole glass-like phase formation at low temperatures was found recently in KTaO₃ weakly doped with Li and Nb (K_0.9986Li_0.0014Ta_0.976Nb_0.024O₃) [Phys. Rev. B 63 (2001) 172]. We report on detailed low frequency (100 Hz-1 MHz) permittivity and Raman light scattering studies of similar composition, but without Li admixture, KTa_1−xNb_xO₃ with x=0.018 (KTN1.8). The aim of the study is to answer the question if the reentrant dipole glass-like phase exists in KTN1.8 and what is the microscopic origin of this phase. A detailed study of the sharp low-temperature PT observed at T_C∼27 K revealed properties inherent to the reentrant glass-type state at lower temperatures. The substitution of Nb for Ta influences the TO₁ soft lattice mode and leads to PT with the long-range ferroelectric ordering. A crossover to an order-disorder polar microregion dynamics with a non-standard ε′(T) behaviour and dipole glass-like formation were found below T_C (at ∼15 K), which is attributed to the randomness of the Nb distribution. A crossover to the long-range order was found under a dc bias field.     

Specific features of structural states in the BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-YMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

The (1 − x)BiFeO_3−x YMnO₃ solid solutions have been found to undergo the following sequence of phase transformations with increasing x: R3c → Pbnm → C2 → Pnma → P6₃ cm. It has been established that the Pbnm and Pnma phases have different orientations of atomic displacements and can exhibit antiferroelectric properties.     

直流偏压对压力诱导反铁电陶瓷去极化性能的影响

采用掺铌的锆钛锡酸铅（PNZST）反铁电陶瓷作为研究对象,研究了不同的直流电场作用下,等静压力诱导极化态反铁电陶瓷发生去极化过程（同时发生铁电/反铁电相变）的规律.当极化态样品两端电场强度为6 kV/cm时,去极化压力为128.8 MPa;当极化态样品两端电场强度为-6 kV/cm时,去极化压力为74.2 MPa.在与极化电场方向相反的外加电场作用下极化态样品具有较小的去极化压力.讨论了外加直流电场影响极化态反铁电陶瓷去极化压力的内在机理.得到了不同外置电场下的去极化压力,并绘制了该材料的外加直流电场（< 关键词： 去极化 反铁电体 相变     

Description of the smooth rms charge radius surface R(N, Z) and prediction of neutron skin by a two-liquid drop model

The smooth N and Z dependence of nuclear rms charge radii is interpereted by a two-liquid drop model with ?_p+?_n=?₀=const. Proton and neutron radii R _p and R _n are given in closed form. In addition to rms charge radii, the model yields the nucleon number dependence of the skin thickness, s, e.g. ds=0.00124×dA for Sn isotopes, in agreement with experimental results and theoretical calculations. A strong correlation between the two global parameters of the model — including s _stthe skin thickness of the stable isotope — is established. If s _stis taken from experiment, the other parameter is also fixed; this parameter (m) characterizes the restoring force responsible for the skin thickness. Its value m=2.2 suggests that — in addition to the number of nucleons in the skin — the skin thickness also influences the distribution of “surplus” nucleons between volume and skin.     

Successive phase transitions in the highly ordered complex perovskite PbLu1/2Nb1/2O3

The structural phase transitions and the electrical behaviour of the complex perovskite PbLu_1/2Nb_1/2O₃ have been investigated using X-ray powder diffraction, dielectric constant measurements, differential scanning calorimetry and measurement of the polarisation as a function of applied electric field. The high-temperature paraelectric phase is highly ordered. A first-order paraelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition occurs at 270°C and an antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition, characterised by dispersion in the curves of dielectric constant as a function of temperature, occurs at ≈ 30°C. The antiferroelectric phase is isostructural with the orthorhombic form of PbYb1/₂Nb1/₂O₃. The low-temperature ferroelectric phase also has an orthorhombic crystal structure.