Stress-induced phase transition in ferroelectric domain walls of BaTiO3

The seminal paper by Zhirnov (1958 Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 35 1175-80) explained why the structure of domain walls in ferroelectrics and ferromagnets is drastically different. Here we show that the antiparallel ferroelectric walls in rhombohedral ferroelectric BaTiO(3) can be switched between the Ising-like state (typical for ferroelectrics) and a Bloch-like state (unusual for ferroelectric walls but typical for magnetic ones). Phase-field simulations using a Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model suggest that this symmetry-breaking transition can be induced by a compressive epitaxial stress. The strain-tunable chiral properties of these domain walls promise a range of novel phenomena in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films.     

The impact of ionic contribution to dielectric permittivity in 11CB liquid crystal and its colloids with BaTiO3 nanoparticles

The European Physical Journal E - Coexistence curves in mixtures of limited miscibility with the lower critical consolute temperature (LCT), of 3-picoline with deuterium oxide (D2O), and D2O/H2O...     

Concentration dependence of the coherent contribution from domain walls to electrical resistance

The contribution from the Levy-Zhang mechanism to the magnetoresistance of a stripe domain structure is analyzed, and the dependence of this contribution on the domain wall concentration is found for the cases where the characteristic spin-diffusion length either exceeds or is far less than the domain structure period.     

Simulation of domain patterns in BaTiO3

Computer simulations of domain structure were performed within the continuous phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau–Devonshire model including electrostatic long-range interactions. Calculations are done on cube or rectangle area blocks with periodic boundary conditions, employing the previously proposed method consisting in eliminating the elastic field using Euler's equations and solving the kinetic equations in Fourier space. The authors demonstrate that both strong anisotropy of the Ginzburg gradient interaction and realistic estimation of elastic and electrostatic long-range interactions are crucial for correct domain wall properties of BaTiO₃-type ferroelectrics. Domain architecture obtained from simulations performed with the authors' model parameters for BaTiO₃ is found to be in reasonable agreement with experiment.     

Magnetotransport at domain walls in BiFeO3

Domain walls in multiferroics can exhibit intriguing behaviors that are significantly different from the bulk of the material. We investigate strong magnetoresistance in domain walls of the model multiferroic BiFeO3 by probing ordered arrays of 109° domain walls with temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent transport. We observe temperature-dependent variations in the transport mechanism and magnetoresistances as large as 60%. These results suggest that by locally breaking the symmetry of a material, such as at domain walls and structural interfaces, one can induce emergent behavior with properties that deviate significantly from the bulk.     

Orientational contribution to the piezoelectric constants of BaTiO3 ceramic in ferroelectric phases with various symmetries

A self-consistent method based on the interaction of a piezoelectric sphere with a piezoelectric medium that has anisotropic elastic and dielectric properties is used to calculate the components of the tensor piezoelectric modulus of BaTiO₃ ceramic in all three ferroelectric modifications. A comparison of the calculated and measured piezoelectric moduli shows that at least 60–70% of the piezoelectric effect in BaTiO₃ ceramic is caused by domain boundary movement throughout the entire ferroelectric region. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1080–1083 (June 1999)     

The interaction of transverse domain walls

The interaction between transverse domain walls is calculated analytically using a multipole expansion up to third order. Starting from an analytical expression for the magnetization in the wall, the monopole, dipole, and quadrupole moments are derived and their impact on the interaction is investigated using the surface and volume charges. The surface charges are important for the dipole moment while the volume charges constitute the monopole and quadrupole moments. For domain walls that are situated in different wires it is found that there is a strong deviation from the interaction of two monopoles. This deviation is caused by the interaction of the monopole of the wall in the first wire with the dipole of the wall in the second wire and vice versa. The dipole-dipole and the quadrupole-monopole interactions are found to be also of considerable size and non-negligible. A comparison with micromagnetic simulations shows a good agreement.     

Effect of domain wall on the dielectric properties of the BaTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices

Based on a phenomenological thermodynamical theory, the effect of the domain wall on the dielectric properties of the polydomain BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices with 180° electric domains in the BaTiO₃ layer is investigated. Theoretical analysis indicates that complete polarization suppression and the largest dielectric response take place at approximately 72% and 53% of the critical volume fraction of the SrTiO₃ layer for the domain wall energy parameter A=3×10⁷ and 5×10⁷, respectively. The dielectric properties largely depend on both the volume fraction of the SrTiO₃ layer and the domain wall energy parameter. Moreover, the gigantic dielectric response which occurs in single-domain BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices cannot appear due to the 180° polydomain state in the BaTiO₃ layer, which is in agreement with the previous prediction. The high domain wall energy parameter results in the stabilization of the paraelectric state in the BaTiO₃ layer, however, the enhancement of the domain wall energy parameter within a certain scale increases the dielectric properties greatly.     

Transition to linear domain walls in nanoconstrictions

Domain walls in nanoconstrictions are investigated with a focus on thermal properties. In general, the magnetization component perpendicular to the easy axis which in a domain wall usually occurs has a value different from the easy-axis bulk magnetization value with a separate phase transition at a critical temperature below the Curie temperature. Since this effect is the more pronounced the smaller the domain wall width is, we investigate it especially in domain walls with a confined geometry, using analytical arguments, mean-field theory, and Monte Carlo simulations. Our findings may contribute to the understanding of magnetoresistive effects in domain walls with sizes of only a few atomic layers, as, e.g., in nanocontacts or nanoconstrictions.     

ZQCD and universal matching to domain walls

We discuss the one loop matching procedure in ZQCD. Universality and Casimir scaling leave – in terms of the 't Hooft coupling – just two combinations of parameters to be fixed numerically. These numbers are then the same for any number of colours.     

The structure and the energy of the cross-tie domain walls

The paper gives the model of the cross-tie walls in thin ferromagnetic films. The distance between side walls, in our model, increases for increasing thickness D of the film, which is in accordance to the experimental data.     

The mobility of domain walls in magnetic films

The character of the dependence of domain wall velocityv on magnetic field intensityH varies with film thickness. Possible causes of the nonlinearity ofv(H) in films of some thickness are discussed. It has been shown how the mobility of domain walls varies over a wide range of thicknesses, from ultrathin films to bulk layers. The mobility measured for films up to 500 thick is consistent with the spin damping theory. For thicknesses greater than 1 the experimental data agree well with the eddy current damping theory. The mobility in thinner films is considerably lower than predicted by this theory. It greatly depends on the domain wall structure, magnetic ripple in domains as well as on the structural defects retarding the wall.     

The resonance of domain walls in hematite crystals

The paper contains the results of the observation of frequency magnetic spectra on hematite crystals. Measurements were made in the frequency range from 20 to 90 MHz. The dependence of the spectra on the history of the sample, on the h.f. field, on an external static field and on temperature was studied. The observed spectra are interpreted on the basis of the resonance of domain walls fixed on defects of the crystal lattice. A model is proposed, explaining the observed changes in signal intensity of NMR.On leave from Department of Experimental Physics, A. Mickiewicz University, Pozna, Poland.The authors would like to thank Professor R. Rost and Dr. M. Vichr for the samples and Professor J. Bro and Dr. P. uda for valuable discussions concerning the studied problem.     

A contribution to the domain structure of iron whiskers

The paper contains an interpretation of the domain patterns found on iron whiskers. An explanation of the closure structure at the end of a whisker grown in the [111] direction is given on the basis of a quantitative analysis. Structures, which form on whiskers strained by axial pressure and bending, are also dealt with. The results are in good agreement with experiment.

---

, . [111]. , . .

     

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation due to dissipative domain walls

The influence of the dissipative motion of domain walls in the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate is studied as a function of the external magnetic field and the temperature. Although only the specific case of the TMMC antiferromagnet below T_N is presented, the results are valid for all magnets described within the semiclassical approach by a double sine-Gordon equation for the spin degree of freedom.