Surface ferroelectric phase transition in multilayer polymer Langmuir films

The ferroelectric phase transition on the free surface of a polymer ferroelectric Langmuir-Blodgett film was studied by the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) technique. A hysteresis in the temperature dependence of the SHG intensity observed for a multilayer film of a poly(vinylidene fluoride)-trifluoroethylene copolymer in the vicinity of T≈15°C is a manifestation of the first-order ferroelectric phase transition in the topmost surface monolayer of the film.     

参数修改对铁电薄膜相变性质的影响

在关联有效场理论的框架内, 利用微分算子技术, 详细地计算了基于横场伊辛模型描述的对称铁电薄膜系统的相变性质. 根据薄膜各层自旋平均值构成的一系列耦合方程, 推导出可以用来计算任意层的具有不同表面层的薄膜相图的解析通式方程, 讨论了参数修改对薄膜相互作用参数从FPD (铁电相占主导地位的相图)到PPD (顺电相占主导地位的相图)过渡值和参数空间中各相变区域的影响. 在与平均场近似进行比较的结果显示, 关联有效场理论所得到的铁电薄膜的铁电性在某种程度上比平均场近似下的结果减弱. 关键词： 铁电薄膜 横场伊辛模型 相图 居里温度     

The effects of uniaxial stress distribution on the ferroelectric properties of thin films with first-order phase transition

Based on the Landau theory, the first-order phase transition properties of ferroelectric thin films have been studied by taking into account uniaxial stress distribution effects. The stress is supposed to decrease from interface to surface exponentially according to the experimental results. It is shown that tensile stress decreases the polarization and the Curie temperature while compressive stress increases the polarization and the Curie temperature. A stress-driven phase transition is found at the critical stress. Our prediction is compared with the available experiment results.     

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.     

Debye-like diffusive central mode near the phase transition in ferroelectric lithium tantalate

We report a clear cut evidence of a temperature dependent diffusive central mode associated with the ferroelectric phase transition of LiTaO₃; a detailed linshape analysis shows that this central mode is a Debye-like relaxation. We also show its influence in the dielectric constant through polariton measurements for several temperatures.     

Barrier photovoltaic effects in PZT ferroelectric thin films

The photoelectric characteristics (independent of ferroelectric polarization) of metal-ferroelectric-metal thin film structures upon exposure to radiation in different ranges of mercury arc lamp spectrum are studied for the Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT) ferroelectrics. The PZT films on platinized silicon substrates were prepared by the sol-gel technique. The relaxations of the short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage are investigated at different intensities of light with wavelengths in the range 300–1200 nm. It is found that the open-circuit voltage returns to its original value after the cessation of light exposure and a short-term holding of structures in the short-circuited state. The factors responsible for the photocurrent and the photoemf are analyzed, and the conclusion is made that they are predominantly contributed by the barrier photovoltaic effects associated with the presence of the p-n junction in the bulk of films and the Schottky barrier in the film region adjacent to the lower platinum electrode.     

Order-disorder phase transition in CoPd thin films

The thin films of a CoPd alloy in the equiatomic composition region are prepared by condensation at different substrate temperatures. The substrate temperature is varied from the liquid nitrogen temperature to +280°C. At low substrate temperatures, the crystal structure of the condensed films is the single-crystal blocks of the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase. As the substrate temperature is further increased, the domains characterized in the initial state by the microdiffraction patterns in the form of a diffuse halo appear in the films, and these domains have a clear-cut boundary with the regions indicated by point reflections in the electron diffraction patterns. At substrate temperatures from +150 to 160°C, the CoPd alloy films in the equiatomic composition region are fully amorphous. The given state is a polymorphic transformation of the martensitic type. It arises in the martensitic transformation of the low-temperature hcp phase to the high-temperature fcc phase. Original Russian Text ? E.M. Artem’ev, M.E. Artem’ev, 2007, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 86, No. 11, pp. 838–840.     

Third-order phase transition and superconductivity in thin films

We have found a new mean field solution in the BCS theory of superconductivity. This unconventional solution indicates the existence of superconducting phase transitions of third order in thin films, or in bulk matter with a layered structure. The critical temperature increases with decreasing thickness of the layer, and does not exhibit the isotope effect. The electronic specific heat is a continuous function of temperature with a discontinuity in its derivative.     

Order-disorder phase transition in CoPd thin films

The thin films of a CoPd alloy in the equiatomic composition region are prepared by condensation at different substrate temperatures. The substrate temperature is varied from the liquid nitrogen temperature to +280°C. At low substrate temperatures, the crystal structure of the condensed films is the single-crystal blocks of the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase. As the substrate temperature is further increased, the domains characterized in the initial state by the microdiffraction patterns in the form of a diffuse halo appear in the films, and these domains have a clear-cut boundary with the regions indicated by point reflections in the electron diffraction patterns. At substrate temperatures from +150 to 160°C, the CoPd alloy films in the equiatomic composition region are fully amorphous. The given state is a polymorphic transformation of the martensitic type. It arises in the martensitic transformation of the low-temperature hcp phase to the high-temperature fcc phase.     

A self-consistent approach to localization transition

The Anderson transition is investigated using a self-consistent approximation in analogy with mean-field approximations in classical spin systems. Mobility edge trajectories in a three-dimensional disordered system with various distributions of the site energies are obtained. The present results are qualitatively in good agreement with the results obtained by using the finite-size scaling method.     

Absence of relaxor-like ferroelectric phase transition in (Pb,Sr)TiO3 thin films

We have performed dielectric and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements in the 298–673 K temperature range in polycrystalline Pb_0.50Sr_0.50TiO₃ thin films prepared by a soft chemical method. The phase transition have been investigated by dielectric measurements at various frequencies during the heating cycle. It was found that the temperature corresponding to the peak value of the dielectric constant is frequency-independent, indicating a non-relaxor ferroelectric behavior. However, the dielectric constant versus temperature curves associated with the ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition showed a broad maximum peak at around 433 K. The observed behavior is explained in terms of a diffuse phase transition. The obtained Raman spectra indicate the presence of a local symmetry disorder, due to a higher strontium concentration in the host lattice. The monitoring of some modes, conducted in the Pb_0.50Sr_0.50TiO₃ thin films, showed that the ferroelectric tetragonal phase undergoes a transition to the paraelectric cubic phase at around 423 K. However, the Raman activity did not disappear, as would be expected from a transition to the cubic paraelectric phase. The strong Raman spectrum observed for this cubic phase is indicative that a diffuse-type phase transition is taking place. This behavior is attributed to distortions of the perovskite structure, allowing the persistence of low-symmetry phase features in cubic phase high above the transition temperature. This result is in contrast to the forbidden first-order Raman spectrum, which would be expected from a cubic paraelectric phase, such as the one observed at high temperature in pure PbTiO₃ perovskite. PACS 78.30.-j; 77.80.Bh; 64.70.Kb; 68.55.-a; 77.22.-a; 77.55.+f     

Properties of ferroelectric thin films with a first-order phase transitions

A Green's function technique is used to investigate the properties of ferroelectric thin films with a first-order phase transitions on the basis of the transverse Ising model. Taking into account the four-spin interactions beside the two-spin interactions the dependence of the polarization on film thickness and temperature and the thickness dependence of the Curie temperature become more complicated.     

外延铁电薄膜相变温度的尺寸效应

考虑外延钙钛矿型铁电薄膜内的等效应力、表面晶格变化和表面电荷引起的退极化效应等机电耦合边界条件,利用铁电薄膜系统的动态金茨堡-朗道方程(DGL),系统分析和讨论了外延铁电薄膜相变温度与临界相变厚度的尺寸效应.结果表明,铁电薄膜相变温度与临界相变厚度完全依赖于各种与薄膜厚度相关的力电耦合边界条件.也给出了BaTiO₃外延铁电薄膜相变温度在各种边界条件下随厚度的变化,从结果看出,本文的分析与结论更符合实验数据. 关键词： 尺寸效应 外延铁电薄膜 相变温度 力电耦合边界     

Phase transition in thin epitaxial ferroelectric films as derived from thermal measurements

The temperature dependence of the heat capacity of thin epitaxial films BaTiO₃/MgO is studied by the dynamic 3ω method in the thickness range 50–500 nm. It is revealed that the heat capacity exhibits diffuse anomalies due to phase transitions. The temperature of the ferroelectric phase transition T _C increases with decreasing film thickness. The reasons for the strong diffuseness of the transition and the nonlinear dependence of the transition temperature on the film thickness are discussed.     

Phase transition properties of ferroelectric thin films with two surface layers

The phase diagrams of ferroelectric thin films with two surface layers described by the transverse Ising model have been studied under the mean-field approximation. We discuss the effects of the exchange interaction and transverse field parameters on the phase diagrams. The results indicate that the phase transition properties of the phase diagrams can be greatly modified by changing the transverse Ising model parameters. In addition, the crossover features of the parameters from the ferroelectric dominant phase diagram to the paraelectric dominant phase diagram are determined for ferroelectric thin films with two surface layers.     

Probing the ferroelectric phase transition in sol–gel‐derived polycrystalline bismuth ferrite thin films

Polycrystalline BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films were successfully grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) and SrTiO₃ (STO) (100) substrates using the chemical solution deposition (CSD) technique. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate the polycrystalline nature of the films with rhombohedrally distorted perovskite crystal structure. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was performed on the sol–gel‐derived powder to countercheck the crystal structure, ferroelectric (FE) to paraelectric (PE) phase transition, and melting point of bismuth ferrite. We observed a significant exothermic peak at 840 °C in DTA graphs, which corresponds to an FE–PE phase transition. Raman spectroscopy studies were carried out on BFO thin films prepared on both the substrates over a wide range of temperature. The room‐temperature unpolarized Raman spectra of BFO thin films indicate the presence of 13 Raman active modes, of which five strong modes were in the low‐wavenumber region and eight weak Raman active modes above 250 cm⁻¹. We observed slight shifts in the lower wavenumbers towards lower values with increase in temperature. The temperature‐dependent Raman spectra indicate a complete disappearance of all Raman active modes at 840 °C corresponding to the FE–PE phase transitions. There is no evidence of soft mode phonons. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solid-phase reactions and the order-disorder phase transition in thin films

A comparative analysis was carried out of the initiation temperatures of solid-phase reactions in bilayer solid films and the Kurnakov temperatures of the phases forming in the reaction products. It has been shown that in superstructures where ordering is usually observed, the Kurnakov temperature coincides with the initiation temperature of the solid-phase reactions if no other solid-phase structural transformation precedes the order-disorder phase transition in the state diagram. A rule was proposed by which pairs of films capable of entering into solid-phase reactions and their initiation temperatures can be determined.     

Component effects on the vanadium oxide thin films phase transition character phenomenon observed

We present what is, to the best of our knowledge, how the components affect the phase transition character of the vanadium oxide thin films. The vanadium oxide thin films are prepared on zinc selenide by a DC magnet sputtering method for the first time; the components are achieved by the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The films are annealed to tune their components. A spectral transmittance study has been made from 2.5 to 25.0 μm. We can see that, except for doping, different components can change the phase transition characters of the films. The components can affect the phase transition temperature, hysteresis cycle, and the transmittance.     

Manifestation of a ferroelectric phase transition in ultrathin films of polyvinylidene fluoride

Temperature dependences of the dielectric properties of ultrathin polyvinylidene fluoride films prepared using the Langmuir-Blodgett method were studied by linear and nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy. It is shown that ultrathin Langmuir films of polyvinylidene fluoride exhibit a manifestation of a first-order ferroelectric phase transition, which can be assigned to the interaction between the spontaneous polarization and the surfaces bounding the film. As the film thickness increases, the effect of the surfaces decreases and the ferroelectric phase transition shifts to high temperatures to vanish altogether when the temperature region of the transition rises above the melting point.