Field-temperature phase diagrams in chiral tilted smectics,evidencing ferroelectric and ferrielectric phases

Usual ferroelectric compounds undergo a paraelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition when the susceptibility of the electric polarization density changes its sign. The temperature is the only thermodynamic field that governs the phase transition. Chiral tilted smectics may also present an improper ferroelectricity when there is a tilt angle between the average long axis direction and the layer normal. The tilt angle is the order parameter of the phase transition which is governed by the temperature. Although the electric susceptibility remains positive, a polarization proportional to the tilt appears due to their linear coupling allowed by the chiral symmetry. Further complications come in when the chirality increases, as new phases are encountered with the same tilt inside the layers but a distribution of the azimuthal direction which is periodic with a unit cell of two (SmC(A)*, three (SmC(Fi1)*, four (SmC(Fi2)* or more (SmC(alpha)* layers. In most of these phases, the layer normal is a symmetry axis so there is no macroscopic polarization except for the SmC(Fi1)* in which the average long axis is tilted so the phase is ferrielectric. By studying a particular compound with only a SmC(Fi2)* and a SmC(alpha)* phase, we show that we recover the uniformly tilted ferroelectric SmC* when applying an electric field. We are thus led to build field-temperature phase diagrams for this class of compounds by combining different experimental techniques described here.     

Theory of the reciprocal susceptibility of the trigonal boracites and the experiment scheme

Landau theory is used to describe the ferroelectric trigonal phase of Boracites. The temperature dependence of the principal reciprocal susceptibility is obtained. The calculated result shows that at the Curie temperature T_c, the spontaneous polarization jumps. The component of the principal reciprocal susceptibility perpendicular to polarization jumps but the component parallel to polarization does not. A possible experimental scheme for the measurement of the principal reciprocal susceptibility components is presented.     

Dynamical dielectric susceptibility of ferroelectric thin films and multilayers

The thickness dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the dynamical dielectric susceptibility is investigated phenomenologically for a multilayer structure consisting of alternating ferroelectric and paraelectric layers. It is shown that the frequency dependence of the linear dielectric response can be closely approximated by that of a damped harmonic oscillator, with the static susceptibility, relaxation time, and soft-mode frequency depending on the layer thickness and temperature. When the layer thickness and temperature are equal to their critical values corresponding to the onset of a size-driven ferroelectric phase transition, the static susceptibility and the relaxation time become anomalously large and then decrease with further increasing layer thickness. A spectrum of natural polarization oscillations is predicted to exist with thickness-dependent frequencies. This spectrum includes a soft-mode frequency which vanishes at the critical thickness and at the critical temperature. The frequency spectrum lies below the soft-mode frequency of a thick film (in which the gradient of polarization is negligible). The calculations are compared with experimentally measured dispersion of the dielectric response of a PbTiO₃-Pb_0.72La_0.28TiO₃ multilayer structure. The agreement between the theory and experiment is found to be good.     

A sonochemical-assisted synthesis and annealing temperature effect of La<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles

This paper reports on the sonochemical-assisted synthesis of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) nanoparticles (NPs) which have a single-crystalline perovskite structure. The average particle size of LSMO NPs was controlled from about 40 to 120 nm by changing the annealing temperatures from 750 to 1050°C. The particle size, electrical resistivity, and ferromagnetic transition temperature of LSMO NPs were strongly dependent on the annealing temperature. A substantial decrease in resistivity and an enhancement in the insulator–metal transition temperature were found on increasing the annealing temperature. Furthermore, the enhancement in magnetization and paramagnetic–ferromagnetic (PM–FM) transition temperatures was observed as the annealing temperature increases.     

Multiferroic magnetoelectric coupling and relaxor ferroelectric behavior in 0.7BiFeO3-0.3BaTiO3 nanocrystals

The structural, microstructural, polarization, magnetization, dielectric constant, and relaxor characteristics of 0.7BiFeO₃-0.3BaTiO₃ (BF-BT) nanocrystals have been studied. BF-BT nanocrystals were prepared by a chemical route using polyvinyl alcohol as surfactant. The phase structure is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and average particle size by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The magnetoelectric coupling is studied by polarization hysteresis loops under the influence of applied magnetic field and the phase transition anomaly. The diffuse phase transition is studied by modified Curie-Weiss law and relaxor characteristics by Vogel-Fulcher relation.     

Quantum HeisenbergS=1/2 spin glass with ferromagnetic coupling and random Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions

By means of the generalized static replica symmetric spin glass theory, a quantum HeisenbergS=1/2 spin glass model with the infinite-ranged random Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction and ferromagnetic coupling is investigated. The dependence of entropy, specific heat, susceptibility and the corresponding order parameters on temperature is studied numerically for different ferromagnetic interactions and fixed anisotropy. Two spin glass phases has been found including transverse and mixed spin glass phases. It has been shown that the local susceptibility exhibits double-cusp features for different ferromagnetic coupling (J ₀). Phase transition poins are found in the specific heat-temperature plane at various ferromagnetic coupling values. Additionally, the dependence of the spontaneous moment on temperature is calculated.     

Surface effects and diffusive phase transition in ferroelectric thin films: A self-consistent approach

A self-consistent Landau phenomenological approach has been used to study the ferroelectric transition in films in the presence of various surface effects such as depolarization and strain. The polarization distribution of the film is computed and its variation with respect to temperature, thickness and strain is determined. The gradual decrease in polarization across the transition shows the diffusive behavior which is confirmed from the soft mode and the dielectric susceptibility analysis. The critical thickness below which ferroelectricity disappears is also computed. The degree of diffuseness in the transition is obtained from the susceptibility exponent which shows more and more diffusive behavior for smaller and smaller film thickness.     

Dielectric properties and the ferroelectric transition of the Stockmayer-fluid via computer simulation

We report extensive molecular dynamics simulations of the Stockmayer fluid near the transition to fluid ferroelectric ordering monitored via the divergence of the static dielectric constant. The dependence of the transition on dipole strength, μ², temperature, T, and system size is investigated. The results are compared to a large number of previous simulations in the literature. We find that the effective transition temperature T/(ρ μ²) ≈ 0.19 for ρ?=?0.8 is a good estimate in the range of the other parameter values considered here. In addition, we study the local field in relation to the structure and dynamics of the liquid phase as a function of temperature, dipole strength and polarizability.     

Initial magnetization curve and hardening mechanism in rapidly quenched NdFeB magnets

Rapidly quenched NdFeB alloys were prepared with varying grain sizes well below and above the critical size for single domain particles. The contributions of the single and multi-domain particles to the initial magnetization curve are analyzed. By changing the quenching speed, i.e., the average grain size, the shape of the initial magnetization curve changes characteristically. The volume fraction of single domain grains is determined from the initial magnetization curves. From scanning electron micrographs the grain size distribution is evaluated and the critical size for single domain particles in the bulk material is deduced from a quantitative analysis of the magnetization curves. It reaches twice the value of the theoretical value for isolated spherical particles. A low temperature treatment following the thermal demagnetization lowers the initial susceptibility in underquenched ribbons as well as in an MQIII magnet. This effect reflects the irreversibility of the transition from the multi to the single domain particle state during the cooling. The temperature dependence of the single domain particle size is deduced from the initial magnetization curves of low temperature treated samples. It is shown that these experimental results are consistently explained assuming the nucleation mechanism to apply for rapidly quenched NdFeB magnets. The results are compared to the behaviour of hard ferrites.     

Temperature-driven spin reorientation transitionof magnetron sputtered nickel thin film

The temperature-driven spin reorientation transition of magnetron sputtered Ni/Si （111） systems has been studied. The relationship between ac initial susceptibility and temperature of nickel films with different thicknesses shows that the magnetization orientation changes from in-plane to out-of-plane with the increase of temperature. The temperature dependence of mugnetoelastic, magneto-crystalline, and magnetostatic anisotropies determines the direction of the reorientation transition. The temperature-driven spin reorientation transition is supported by Hall coefficient measurements which show that its temperature dependence is similar to that of susceptibility.     

光学渡越辐射电子束发散角二维拟合数值分析

光学渡越辐射具有良好的方向性,通过对光学渡越辐射空间分布曲线进行拟合可以对束流发散角进行计算。采用理论计算的方法,分析了电子入射到金属-介质界面时,入射角变化对光学渡越辐射二维空间分布的影响。计算分析表明,光学渡越辐射在特定偏振方向上的分布并不仅仅由电子束在该方向的发散角分量决定,同时还受到其他方向发散角分量的影响。计算对比了电子束散角一维分布和二维分布模型下光学渡越辐射空间分布的差异。结果表明,采用一维分布模型拟合计算的电子束均方根发散角存在偏差,较二维分布拟合结果偏小。     

光学渡越辐射电子束发散角二维拟合数值分析北大核心CSCD

光学渡越辐射具有良好的方向性,通过对光学渡越辐射空间分布曲线进行拟合可以对束流发散角进行计算。采用理论计算的方法,分析了电子入射到金属-介质界面时,入射角变化对光学渡越辐射二维空间分布的影响。计算分析表明,光学渡越辐射在特定偏振方向上的分布并不仅仅由电子束在该方向的发散角分量决定,同时还受到其他方向发散角分量的影响。计算对比了电子束散角一维分布和二维分布模型下光学渡越辐射空间分布的差异。结果表明,采用一维分布模型拟合计算的电子束均方根发散角存在偏差,较二维分布拟合结果偏小。     

On the interpretation of magnetization data for antiferromagnetic nanoparticles

We have investigated the influence of anisotropy on the magnetization curves of antiferromagnetic nanoparticles. We show that if such curves are analyzed in a conventional way, i.e. using a Langevin function in combination with a linear term, this usually results in good quality fits, but with an apparent temperature dependence of parameters such as the magnetic moment per particle and the antiferromagnetic susceptibility. In order to avoid the problems associated with anisotropy as well as volume/moment distributions we propose that the initial susceptibility is used when analyzing the temperature dependence of the magnetic moment.     

Finite size effects around pseudo-transition in one-dimensional models with nearest neighbor interaction

Recently gigantic peaks in thermodynamic response functions have been observed at finite temperature for one-dimensional models with short-range coupling, closely resembling a second-order phase transition. Thus, we will analyze the finite temperature pseudo-transition property observed in some one-dimensional models and its relationship with finite size effect. In particular, we consider two chain models to study the finite size effects; these are the Ising-Heisenberg tetrahedral chain and an Ising-Heisenberg-type ladder model. Although the anomalous peaks of these one-dimensional models have already been studied in the thermodynamic limit, here we will discuss the finite size effects of the chain and why the peaks do not diverge in the thermodynamic limit. So, we discuss the dependence of the finite size effects, for moderately and sufficiently large systems, in which the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility exhibit peculiar rounded towering peaks for a given temperature. This behavior is quite similar to a continuous phase transition, but there is no singularity. For moderately large systems, the peaks narrow and increase in height as the number of unit cells is increased, and the location of peak shifts slightly. Hence, one can naively induce that the sharp peak should lead to a divergence in the thermodynamic limit. However, for a rather large system, the height of a peak goes asymptotically to a finite value. Our result rigorously confirms the dependence of the peak height with the number of unit cells at the pseudo-critical temperature. We also provide an alternative empirical function that satisfactorily fits specific heat and magnetic susceptibility at pseudo-critical temperature. Certainly, our result is crucial to understand the finite size correction behavior in quantum spin models, which in general are only numerically tractable within the framework of the finite size analysis.     

Glass like magnetic alternating field susceptibility behavior of structurally frozen ferrofluids

Four ferrofluids, distinct in size distribution and aggregate structure, were investigated. The relaxation time ,related to the temperature of susceptibility maximum, was fitted to a Vogel-Fulcher law. A mean ordering temperature, T₀, was calculated using magnetic particle parameters derived from the structure. It is assumed that at T₀ the particle moments of particle clusters correlate, leading to a spin glass-like transition. Hence, then dynamic slows down considerably, as indicated by a strong broadening of relaxation-time distribution. T₀ roughly agrees with the energy of competing interaction between particle moments, as calculated from the structure of particle aggregates. Differences between particle arrangements clearly influence the dispersion and absorption, particularly within the cluster phase. Received 15 July 1998     

Ferroelectric and phase transition studies in cesium nitrate: poly(vinyl?alcohol)?composite films

The composite films of cesium nitrate (CsNO₃) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with varying composition were prepared using the solvent cast method. The hysteresis loop characteristics show optimum remnant polarization (P _r ) of 2.75 μC/cm² at 50 wt.% composition. The field emission scanning electron microscope images show a nearly homogeneous distribution of CsNO₃ grains in the 50 wt.% composite film. The temperature dependence of the remnant polarization shows a diffused transition temperature range from the ferroelectric to the paraelectric phase and this has been attributed to the reduced enthalpy. The butterfly features of the dielectric constant–voltage (ε–V) characteristics have been attributed to polarization switching.     

Preavalanche instabilities in a granular pile

We investigate numerically the transition between static equilibrium and dynamic surface flow of a 2D cohesionless granular system driven by a continuous gravity loading. This transition is characterized by intermittent local dynamic rearrangements and can be described by an order parameter defined as the density of critical contacts, i.e., contacts where the friction is fully mobilized. Analysis of the spatial correlations of critical contacts shows the occurrence of "fluidized" clusters which exhibit a power-law divergence in size at the approach of the stability limit. The results are compatible with recent models that describe the granular system during the static/dynamic transition as a multiphase system.     

Effect of strontium addition on ferroelectric phase transition of PZT thin films prepared by chemical route

The dependence of ferroelectric phase transition temperature as a function of strontium substitution in lead titanate zirconate thin films (referred here as PSZT) on platinum-coated silicon substrates was investigated. The dielectric study reveals that the material undergoes a diffuse type ferroelectric phase transition that depends on the substitution of Sr for Pb in PZT. At 100 kHz, the phase transition temperatures were 633, 613 and 516 K for PSZT10, PSZT20 and PSZT30 thin films, respectively. On the other hand, the results showed that the dependence of the dielectric constant upon the frequency does not reveal any relaxor behavior. The diffusivity increases with increasing Sr contents in the studied composition range. The experimental data obtained from measurements of the dielectric constant as a function of temperature and frequencies showed a classical behavior of ferroelectric phase transition in PSZT thin films, rather than a relaxor ferroelectric phase transition. The transition temperature decreases with increasing Sr contents due to the decrease in grain size, lattice decrease and local structural disorder.     

An investigation of the 2D attractive Hubbard model

We present an investigation of the 2D attractive Hubbard model, considered as an effective model relevant to superconductivity in strongly interacting electron systems. We use both hybrid Monte-Carlo simulations and existing hopping parameter expansions to explore the low temperature domain. The increase of the static S-wave pair correlation with decreasing temperature, which depends weakly on the band filling in the explored temperature range, is analyzed in terms of an expected Kosterlitz-Thouless superconducting transition. Using both our data and previously published results, we show that the evidence for this transition is weak: If it exists, its temperature is very low. The number of unpaired electrons remains nearly constant with temperature at fixed attractive potential strength. In contrast, the static magnetic susceptibility decreases fast with temperature, and cannot be related only to pair formation. We introduce a method by which the Padé approximants of the existing series for the susceptibility give sensible results down to rather low temperature region, as shown by comparison with our numerical data. Received: 30 October 1996 / Revised: 23 October 1997 / Accepted: 29 January 1998