Hysteresis phenomena in the course of polarization evolution in a sinusoidal electric field in lead magnesium niobate crystals

The processes of polarization evolution in single crystals of the PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃ model ferroelectric relaxor in a sinusoidal electric field are investigated at temperatures near and above the temperature T _d 0 of destruction of the induced ferroelectric state upon heating in zero electric field. The polarization switching current loops are measured in the ac electric field applied along the 〈111〉 and 〈110〉 pseudocubic directions. The electroluminescence intensity loops are obtained under the combined action of ac and dc electric fields applied along the 〈100〉 direction. In a certain temperature range above T _d 0 and the freezing temperature T _f in lead magnesium niobate, there are electric current anomalies, that correspond to the dynamic formation and subsequent destruction of the ferroelectric macroregions throughout each half-cycle of the ac electric field. The measurements of electroluminescence hysteresis loops demonstrate that the observed depolarization delay (related to the ac electric field amplitude) increases with an increase in the dc electric field and decreases as the ac field amplitude increases. The nature of the observed phenomena is discussed.     

Highly spin-polarized room-temperature tunnel injector for semiconductor spintronics using MgO(100)

The spin polarization of current injected into GaAs from a CoFe/MgO(100) tunnel injector is inferred from the electroluminescence polarization from GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well detectors. The polarization reaches 57% at 100 K and 47% at 290 K in a 5 T perpendicular magnetic field. Taking into account the field dependence of the luminescence polarization, the spin injection efficiency is at least 52% at 100 K, and 32% at 290 K. We find a nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the polarization which can be attributed to spin relaxation in the quantum well detectors.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of the initial stages of polarization switching in ferroelectrics

The thermodynamics and kinetics of polarization switching in ferroelectrics are studied in the specific case of switching in intrinsic ferroelectrics with 180° domains. The initial stage of the switching in the region of weak metastability is analyzed. An expression relating the critical domain size to the switching field is derived. An equation describing the evolution of the size distribution function of the switched domains is obtained. Expressions for calculating the number of polarization switching nuclei as a function of the switching field are derived.     

有机场致发光中能带模型与分子理论的讨论

在有机场致发光中,能带模型及分子理论从20世纪就存在尖锐的矛盾。在分层优化方案中,经SiO₂加速后的电子能量可以到达10eV,这足以激发发光材料发光,将分层优化方案应用到有机场致发光材料中。发现了固态阴极射线发光(SSCL),经过对它的交叉证明、普适性的验证,肯定了固态阴极射线的发光确实是在发光二极管,无机及有机场致发光之外的一种完全新型的电场诱导的发光。SSCL的特征是在它的光谱中出现短波发光峰,实验证明长波发光峰的减弱是由于电场离化效应。研究了这种效应出现的电压阈值并和SSCL的短波峰出现的电压相比,发现短波峰的出现是在激子的电场离化之后,从而找出了电子处于局域态与扩展态的分水岭,解释了在有机场致发光中能带模型和分子理论并不矛盾,只是适用的条件不同。激子的离化是随电场强度而渐进的变化,因此会有一个两种过程并存的范围。     

Nanosecond dynamics of ferroelectric/dielectric superlattices

The nanosecond response of a PbTiO(3)/SrTiO(3) ferroelectric/dielectric superlattice to applied electric fields is closely linked to the dynamics of striped domains of the remnant polarization. The intensity of domain satellite reflections observed with time-resolved x-ray microdiffraction decays in 5-100 ns depending on the magnitude of the electric field. The piezoelectric response of the superlattice within stripe domains is strongly suppressed due to electromechanical clamping between adjacent regions of opposite polarization. Regions of the superlattice that have been switched into a uniform polarization state by the applied electric field, however, exhibit piezoelectricity during the course of the switching process. We propose a switching model different from previous models of the switching of superlattices, based instead on a spatially heterogeneous transformation between striped and uniform polarization states.     

Formation of spin light-emitting diodes based on InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures containing ferromagnetic inclusions

The electroluminescence of light-emitting diodes based on heterostructures with InGaAs quantum wells and a delta 〈Mn〉 doped layer in the GaAs barrier is studied. It is shown that the diodes emit circularly polarized light with the degree of polarization depending on the applied magnetic field and on temperature. We assume that the temperature dependences of the degree of polarization are determined by a change in the mutual position of energy levels of Mn ions in the delta layer and of holes in a quantum well.     

Potential distribution in ferroelectric ceramic during pulsed exoelectron emission

The potential and polarization distributions in a planar emitting layer of PLZT-9/65/35 ferroelectric ceramic with a set of conductive strip electrodes on the emitting side and a continuous electrode on the opposite side are studied by numerical methods. The state arising immediately after polarization switching at the leading edge of an applied voltage pulse (i.e., before the polarization charges are screened by free charges) is considered. When the pulsed field strength far exceeds the double coercive field, regions with alternating polarization are found to form in the surface layer between the strips. The normal component of the polarization at its maxima is close to saturation. The electric field on both sides of the surface varies as the polarization vector and reaches 200 kV/cm. At surface microirregularities, the electric field strength is much higher. This means that field emission is responsible for electron escape from the ferroelectric ceramic during pulsed polarization switching.     

Higher order ferroic switching induced by scanning force microscopy.

We present the observation of ferroelastoelectric switching in a ferroelectric material. It is achieved in barium titanate thin film by simultaneously applying electric field and compressive stress with the tip of a scanning force microscope. For low compressive stresses, the presented measurements reveal classical ferroelectric domain reversal, i.e., the spontaneous polarization is aligned parallel to the applied electric field. However, for high compressive stresses the direction of polarization after switching is antiparallel to the poling field, demonstrating ferroelastoelectric switching.     

Demonstration of electrical spin injection into a semiconductor using a semimagnetic spin aligner

Spin injection into semiconductors has been a field of growing interest during recent years, because of the large possibilities in basic physics and for device applications that a controlled manipulation of the electrons spin would enable. However, it has proven very difficult to realize such a spin injector experimentally. Here we demonstrate electrical spin injection and detection in a GaAs/AlGaAs p-i-n diode using a semimagnetic II–VI semiconductor (Zn_{1 − x − y}Be_xMn_ySe) as a spin aligner. The degree of circular polarization of the electroluminescence from the diode is related to the spin polarization of the conduction electrons. Thus, it may be used as a detector for injected spin-polarized carriers. Our experimental results indicate a spin polarization of the injected electrons of up to 90% and are reproduced for several samples. The degree of optical polarization depends strongly on the Mn concentration and the thickness of the spin aligner. Electroluminescence from a reference sample without spin aligner as well as photoluminescence after unpolarized excitation in the spin aligner sample show only the intrinsic polarization in an external magnetic field due to the GaAs bandstructure. We can thus exclude side effects from Faraday effect or magnetic circular dichroism in the semimagnetic layer as the origin of the observed circularly polarized electroluminescence.     

Polarization switching kinetics in ferroelectrics in the region of strong metastability

The thermodynamics and kinetics of polarization switching in ferroelectrics are studied in the framework of the field theory in the vicinity of the critical point of first-order phase transitions. The study is exemplified by the switching of intrinsic ferroelectrics with 180° domains. An expression describing the dependence of the domain critical size on the switching field is derived. The switching process is studied at high switching fields. Relationships for calculating the field dependence of the number of switched domains are obtained.     

Polarization switching in perforated ferroelectric films

The polarization switching in ferroelectric films of barium strontium titanate with a planar structure of interdigitated electrodes has been studied experimentally. The local polarization distribution in an interelectrode gap of these films in an applied electric field has been investigated using nonlinear optical microscopy. The polarization switching parameters of unperforated and perforated films have been compared.     

Influence of delta〈Mn〉 doping parameters of the GaAs barrier on circularly polarized luminescence of GaAs/InGaAs heterostructures

The circular polarization of low-temperature electroluminescence of diodes based on heterostructures with an undoped quantum well InGaAs/GaAs and a delta〈Mn〉 layer in the GaAs barrier has been investigated. The possibility of changing the degree of circular polarization of the electroluminescence by varying the main structural parameters of diodes (spacer layer thickness, i.e., the distance between the delta〈Mn〉 layer and the quantum well, atomic concentration in the delta〈Mn〉 layer, and introduction of an additional acceptor delta layer) has been analyzed. It has been revealed that the variation in the spacer layer thickness is the most effective method for controlling the degree of circular polarization of the electroluminescence.     

Temperature dependence of the circular polarization of electroluminescence from spin-polarized light-emitting diodes based on InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures

The temperature dependence of the circular polarization degree of the electroluminescence from light-emitting diodes based on InGaAs/GaAs-quantum-well (QW) heterostructures with a closely located ferromagnetic Mn δ layer is investigated. It is found that the Mn δ layer ferromagnetically affects holes in the QW. This effect is characterized by spin polarization of the holes and the appearance of circularly polarized emission components under electroluminescence conditions. It is demonstrated that the ferromagnetic properties of a δ layer can be studied by analyzing the QW luminescence. The Curie temperatures of the ferromagnetic system are determined using the results of investigations.     

Investigation of ferroelectric properties of bismuth ferrite films by the second optical harmonic generation technique

The specific features of the ferroelectric polarization switching in bismuth ferrite thin films doped with neodymium ions are investigated by the optical second harmonic generation technique. The structure and nonlinear optical properties of the samples prepared are studied in the course of ferroelectric polarization switching in planar geometry over wide ranges of film thicknesses and electric field frequencies.     

Zur Vorsensibilisierung von Manganaktivierten Zinkkadmiumsulfiden durch elektrische Felder und Infrarotstrahlung

The powder phosphor ZnCdS-Mn was used to make a more detailed investigation into memory, which was first described by Destriau in 1958. The effect of a field and infra-red radiation is modified by prior sensitization of the luminophore; this is apparent during further X-ray radiation primarily as a much higher luminescence intensity which later slowly decreases. A comparison of the results of measuring the brightness and charge on an electroluminescence panel permits conclusions to be reached on the actual mechanism. When a field is applied it excites polarization, the field of which does not have a great influence on the effect studied.     

Fatigue of lead titanate and lead zirconate titanate thin films

The fatigue of lead titanate and lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric thin films, i.e., a change in the polarization as a function of the number of switching cycles in an external electric field, is investigated experimentally. The threshold numbers of switching cycles are determined to be 10¹⁰–10¹¹ for the lead titanate films and 10⁹–10¹⁰ for the lead zirconate titanate films. It is shown that a change in the temperature does not substantially affect the threshold number of switching cycles at which the switched polarization decreases drastically. However, an increase in the external field strength leads to a noticeable decrease in the threshold number of switching cycles. The process of fatigue is accompanied by an increase in the coercive field and the internal bias field. It is established that, as the number of switching cycles increases, the internal bias field changes more significantly as compared to the coercive field. The absence of a change in the phase composition in repeatedly switched samples indicates that the fatigue processes have a nonchemical nature. The anomaly observed in the frequency dependence of the permittivity in the frequency range 10⁶–10⁷ Hz due to the domain structure disappears after multiple switching cycles. This suggests that the observed fatigue phenomenon has a domain nature.     

Dynamic fatigue during polarization switching of lead zirconate titanate ceramics with variable ferroelectric hardness

The remanent polarization of lead zirconate titanate ceramics with variable ferroelectric hardness is experimentally studied in a strong ac field. The results obtained suggest that the main mechanism of multiplication of crystal defects that controls the fatigue rate of soft ferroelectric ceramics is the process of twinning and untwinning in crystallites during polarization switching. In hard ferroelectric ceramics, the formation of a hysteresis loop is accompanied by the formation of stable configurations of mechanical twins in crystallites due to secondary twinning. Polarization switching in these configurations does not induce twin-wall motion, and the fatigue rate is low.     

Polarization reversal in multiferroic TbMnO3 with a rotating magnetic field direction

For the memory application of magnetoelectric multiferroics, not only bistability (i.e., ferroelectricity) but also the switching of the polarization direction with some noneverlasting stimulus is necessary. Here, we report a novel method for the electric polarization reversal in TbMnO3 without the application of an electric field or heat. The direction of the magnetic-field-induced polarization along the a axis (Pa) is memorized even in the zero field where Pa is absent. The polarization direction can be reversed by rotating the magnetic-field direction in the ab plane.     

Switching characters of asymmetric ferroelectric films

The switching property of asymmetric ferroelectric films has been studied from Landau free energy and the Khalanikov mation. The polarization response and switching current under a step electric field and pulsed field have been investigated. Watching times, for both the up-switching and down-switching process, have been obtained and discussed.     

Temperature behavior of the order parameter in Pb5Ge3O11

The temperature dependence of the spontaneous polarization in the Pb₅Ge₃O₁₁ lead germanate (PGO) is experimentally investigated using optical, magnetic resonance, and conventional electrical measurements. The deviations from the temperature dependence typical of second-order phase transitions at temperatures below 420 K are explained in terms of incomplete polarization switching and polarization induced by a residual depolarization field. The low-temperature anomalies are interpreted without consideration of additional structural transformations. The internal bias field is determined from the experimental temperature dependence of the perfect polarization of PGO single crystals in an electric field.