Isothermal depolarisation currents in triglycine sulphate: Polarisation along non-ferroelectric crystallographic axes

d ∝t^-s, where s<1 at the initial state and s>1 at the final state of the sample depolarisation. The loss peak frequency 1/τ_p exhibits an activation character of ω_p∝exp(-E/kT) with E=0.25 eV in the direction of the a -axis and E=0.56 eV for the c-axis. Received: 13 February 1997/Accepted: 7 April 1997     

Plasmon resonances observed in light scattered by large alkali clusters

Received: 14 October 1996/Revised version: 15 January 1997     

Two-dimensional simulation of the polarization switching in ferroelectrics

The main switching properties in ferroelectrics are simulated within the framework of the extended Ishibashi dipole-lattice model including the dipole-dipole interaction in a two-dimensional case. The mechanism of the polarization reversal is modeled in the two-dimensional case. The results of the modeling are in a good agreement with experimental data for the set of materials.     

Scattering by small thin dielectric particles

In the analysis of electromagnetic scattering by distributions of small dielectric particles an approximation to the scattered field can be obtained by representing the electrical interaction of the particles in terms of the dipole moments of the individual particles. The calculation of the moments necessitates the solution of certain static scattering problems, and this becomes numerically difficult when the particles are thin. An integral equation formulation of the static scattering problem specialized to the case of thin planar dielectric plates is presented, along with an efficient numerical routine. Dipole moments are obtained over a range of permittivities for plates with several thicknesses and a variety of cross-sectional shapes, and the shape dependence is discussed.     

Film structure and ferroelectric properties of in situ grown SrBi2Ta2O9 films

Ferroelectric SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) films were grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) at different substrate temperatures and fluences. A correlation between film structure and ferroelectric properties is established. The dielectric function ε^′ of thin SBT films shows a Curie–Weiss behavior well below the peak temperature T_max and relaxor-like behavior in the vicinity of T_max. Domain walls have a strong influence on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties and on the polarization fatigue of SBT films below 100 °C. The formation of ferroelectric phases is favored at lower substrate temperatures by incorporating Bi₂O₃ template layers into the structure. Received: 18 March 1999 / Accepted: 19 March 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Observation of domain wall motions in alanine doped triglycine sulphate ferroelectric crystal

In an Alanine doped triglycine sulphate ferroelectric crystal, domain wall motions show roughly the same velocity vs. electric field as in pure TGS (after the specific bias field of the observed region has been annealed by an opposite external field). The different steps of the hysteresis loop can be brought together with domain switchings which have been made visible by the pyroelectric probe technique.     

Effect of electric field on electrocaloric effect in Pb(Zr1 − xTix)O3 solid solution

A thermodynamic analysis is employed to investigate the intrinsic electrocaloric effect of Pb(Zr_1 − xTi_x)O₃ solid solution system under the different electric field. Theoretical analysis indicates that Pb(Zr_1 − xTi_x)O₃ system has the giant electrocaloric coefficient and the large adiabatic temperature change near its ferroelectric Curie temperature. The applied electric field decreases not only the electrocaloric coefficient but also its temperature dependence. Furthermore, it increases the adiabatic temperature change as well as its dependence of temperature. The temperature corresponding to the maximum of electrocaloric coefficient and adiabatic temperature change increases with the enhancement of electric field because of its first-order phase transition between ferroelectric phase and paraelectric phase.     

Trap characterization for Bi4Ti3O12 thin films by thermally stimulated currents

Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements performed in the 100 K–400 K temperature range on Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BiT) thin films annealed at 550 °C and 700 °C had revealed two trapping levels having activation energies of 0.55 eV and 0.6 eV. The total trap concentration was estimated at 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for the samples annealed at 550 °C and 3×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for a 700 °C annealing and the trap capture cross-section was estimated about 10⁻¹⁸ cm². From the temperature dependence of the dark current in the temperature range 20 °C–120 °C the conduction mechanism activation energy was found to be about 0.956–0.978 eV. The electrical conductivity depends not only on the sample annealing temperature but also whether the measurement is performed in vacuum or air. The results on the dark conductivity are discussed considering the influence of oxygen atoms and oxygen vacancies. Received: 28 January 1998 / Accepted: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Flat superlens by using negative refraction in two-dimensional phononic crystals

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrated a flat superlens by negative refraction imaging for acoustic waves in a two-dimensional phononic crystal. The sample consists of a square array of steel cylinders immersed in water. The dispersion surfaces at the first band for this sample are nearly circular around point M in the first Brillouin zone, which makes the index of the negative refraction for the phononic crystal sample be well defined for all angles of incidence. Both the observed negative refraction behavior and imaging effect are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations by the Multiple Scattering Theory method.     

Synthesis and Multiferroic Properties of BiFeO3 Nanotubes

Highly ordered BiFeO3（BFO） nanotubes with about 200nm in diameter and 60μm in length are fabricated by a sol-gel AAO template method. A perovskite-type structure of BFO is confirmed in the nanotubes by transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction analysis. The coexistence of ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering of these BFO nanotubes at room temperature is demonstrated, giving a remnant polarization of 26μC/cm2, a low coercive electric field of 60kV/cm, and a magnetization of 0.18emu/g. In addition, it is found that the leakage behavior of these nanotubes is dominated by the ohmic contact mechanism.     

Ferroelectric Properties of Polycrystalline Ceramics with Dipolar Defect Simulated from the Potts--Ising Model

Physical properties of polycrystailine ferroelectrics including the contributions of the fixed dipolar defects and the average grain size in the Potts-Ising model are simulated by using the Monte Carlo method. Domain pattern, hysteresis loop and switching current of the polarization reversal process are obtained. Two processes are considered in our simulation. In the first one, the grain texture of ferroelectric ceramics are produced from the Ports model, and then the Ising model is implemented in the obtained polycrystailine texture to produce the domain pattern, hysteresis loop and switching current. It is concluded that the defect has the ability to decrease the remnant polarization P~ as well as the coercive field E~. The back switching is obviously observed after the electric field is off, and it shows some variation after introducing the fixed dipolar defect. Meanwhile, the spike of the switching current is found to lower with the increasing defect concentration and the decreasing average grain size.     

Memory effect in the triglycine sulphate crystal polarized not parallel to the ferroelectric axis

The experimental results concerning the electric susceptibility χ₂₂ of the triglycine sulphate (TGS) crystal polarized not parallel to the ferroelectric axis at different temperatures have been shown. The process of partial rejuvenation in the ferroelectric phase has been presented. It has been found that the temperature changes of the slope correspond to step-wise changes of a pyroelectric coefficient p=dP/dT (P=P₂, P₃), where P₂ and P₃ are the longitudinal and transverse polarizations, respectively. An interpretation of temperature dependences of P₂ and P₃ as well as χ₂₂ of the triglycine sulphate ferroelectric previously exposed to a prolonged transverse electric field has been proposed. It has been concluded that the number of elementary cells containing molecules in metastable states depends on temperature in such a way that some kind of memory effect can be observed.     

Coupling of ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic order parameters in hexagonal RMnO3

Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is used as a probe for the coexisting ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic orders in hexagonal RMnO₃. SH contributions coupling to the electric and/or magnetic order parameters are identified on the basis of their spectral dependence and the symmetries of the corresponding order parameters. The SH signals from the ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic orders were employed to image the electric and magnetic domain structures separately. The transformation properties of electric and magnetic domains are discussed with respect to the transformation properties of the corresponding order parameters. An investigation of the mutual coupling between the coexisting electric and magnetic orders reveals apparently independent domain structures, which contradicts the symmetry and transformation properties of electric-dipole-induced SHG in this ferroelectromagnetic group of compounds. Apart from higher-order multipole contributions to SHG, interface contributions from clamped electric and magnetic domains can solve the contradiction. Received: 16 October 2001 / Published online: 24 April 2002     

Artificial Modulation of Ferroelectric Thin Films into Antiferroelectric through H+ Implantation for High-Density Charge Storage

Hydrogen ions are implanted into Pb（Zro.3Tio.7）03 1014 ions/cm^2. Pseudo-antiferroelectric behaviour in thin films at the energy of 40keV with a flux of 5 x the implanted thin films is observed, as confirmed by the measurements of polarization versus electric hysteresis loops and capacitance versus voltage curves. X-ray diffrac- tion patterns show the film structures before and after H＋ implantation both to be perovskite of a tetragonal symmetry. These findings indicate that hydrogen ions exist as stable dopants within the films. It is believed that the dopants change domain-switching behaviour via the boundary charge compensation. Meanwhile, time dependence of leakage current density after time longer than lOs indicates the enhancement of the leakage cur- rent nearly in one order for the implanted film, but the current at time shorter than i s is mostly the same as that of the original film without the ionic implantation. The artificial tailoring of the antiferroelectric behaviour through H＋ implantation in ferroelectric thin films is finally proven to be achievable for the device application of high-density charge storage.     

Deep UV laser induced fluorescence in fluoride thin films

Fluorescence experiments have been performed to study the interaction of 193-nm laser radiation with dielectric thin films of LaF₃, AlF₃, and MgF₂. Spectral- and time-resolved measurements reveal the presence of cerium in LaF₃ and the influence of hydrocarbons in MgF₂ and LaF₃. Virtually no fluorescence response is observable in the case of AlF₃. Supplementary measurements on multilayer stacks confirm the contribution of hydrocarbon and cerium emission in high-reflective UV mirrors upon ArF excimer laser irradiation. Energy density dependent measurements indicate a linear absorption process as the origin of UV laser induced fluorescence in LaF₃. Luminescence calculations are applied as a helpful tool in order to account for interference effects that are inherently to be found in the multilayer emission spectra. Received: 21 May 2002 / Accepted: 23 May 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-3641/807-601, E-mail: heber@iof.fraunhofer.de     

First-principles calculations on ferroelectricity and lattice dynamics of Type-II multiferroic SmMn2O5

In this work, we report on the structural, electronic, and ferroelectric properties of SmMn₂O₅ by using first-principles density functional theory plus on-site Coulomb interaction (DFT + U) calculations. A thorough analysis was preformed to reveal the competing characteristics of different high-temperature (T) phases and the polarization mechanism in the low-T multiferroic phase. We show that the structural characteristics of the high-T phases have a strong influence on the low-T multiferroicity. In addition to the spin-induced lattice distortion that reduces substantially the purely electronic ferroelectricity, the dominant polarization mechanism in low-T SmMn₂O₅ still originates from the electronic polarization. By performing mode decomposition of the Hellmann–Feynman forces and the lattice distortion induced by the q = (0.5, 0, 0) magnetic order, we find that the Raman-active A_g mode characterized by the Mn⁴⁺O₆ octahedron distortion and synergistic displacement of Mn³⁺ and Sm ions is of primary importance, while the infrared (IR)-active B_2u mode plays a secondary role. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for future studies concerning the enhanced magnetoelectric effects of SmMn₂O₅ due to its pure exchange–striction mechanism.     

The electrical properties and phase transformation of PLZST 2/85/13/2 antiferroelectric thin films on different bottom electrode

Pb_0.97La_0.02(Zr_0.85Sn_0.13Ti_0.02)O₃ (PLZST 2/85/13/2) antiferroelectric thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si and LaNiO₃(LNO)/SiO₂/Si substrates through a modified sol-gel process. The phase structure and microstructure of PLZST 2/85/13/2 antiferroelectric thin films were analysed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and field-emission SEM (FE-SEM). The antiferroelectric nature of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 thin films on two electrodes was demonstrated by the C-V (capacitance-voltage) and P-E (polarization-electric field) measurement. The maximum polarizations for PLZST 2/85/13/2 films on Pt and LNO electrodes were 42 and 18 μC/cm², respectively. The temperature dependence of the dielectric property of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 films was measured under different dc electric fields. Also, the phase transformation of the PLZST 2/85/13/2 films was studied in detail as a function of temperature and dc electric field.     

Deep UV laser induced luminescence in oxide thin films

Time-resolved luminescence experiments have been set up in order to study the interaction of 193-nm laser radiation with dielectric thin films. At room temperature, Al₂O₃ coatings show photoluminescence upon ArF excimer laser irradiation, with significant intensity contributions besides the known substrate emission. Time- and energy-resolved measurements indicate the presence of oxygen-defect centers in Al₂O₃ coatings, which suggests a strong single-photon interaction at 193 nm by F⁺ and F center absorption. Measurements on highly reflective thin-film stacks, consisting of quarter-wave Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ layers, indicate similar UV excitations, mainly from color centers of Al₂O₃. Received: 20 February 2002 / Accepted: 11 April 2002 / Published online: 5 July 2002     

Light–induced charge transport processes in photorefractive barium titanate crystals doped with iron

3 ) are annealed in a hydrogen atmosphere at various temperatures. After these reducing treatments, absorption, light–induced absorption changes, two–beam coupling direction, photo electron paramagnetic resonance (photo EPR), dark and photoconductivity as well as bulk photovoltaic current density are investigated. The samples are electron conductive and the charge transport is governed by only one level, which is identified by photo EPR as Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺. The photoconductivity exceeds the dark conductivity for intensities above 1 kWm^-2. A relation between the absorption constant and the Fe²⁺ concentration is derived. From the known charge transport parameters the advantageous photorefractive properties of optimized reduced BaTiO₃:Fe are deduced; possible response times in the millisecond range at an intensity of 10 kWm^-2 are estimated. Received: 22 January 1997/Accepted: 23 January 1997     

The thermal effects on the negative refraction of sonic crystals

The thermal effects on the refractive direction of a sonic crystal consisted of steel rods in air background is investigated. By means of varying the temperature, the refractive direction and the range of the incident angle with the negative refraction are changed accordingly due to the variations of the air density and sound speed. The focus behaviors, intensity and distance, of the sonic crystal plane lens with varying temperature are studied. Moreover, at certain frequencies and incident angles, the refractive angles can be changed from negative to positive by varying the temperature of a sonic crystal with air background. The tunable sonic crystal can be used to design various novel ultrasonic devices.