On the dependence of the coercive field of BaTiO3 single crystals on their thickness

The paper gives the results of measuring the coercive field of single-domain single crystals of BaTiO₃, the thickness of which was lowered by successive etching. The initial decrease in the thicknessd is accompanied by a sudden increase in the coercive fieldE _c (E _c /d –1·5 × × 10⁵ V/cm²); after etching off layers larger than 10^–3 ÷ 2×10^–3cm the coercive field grows much more slowly (E _c /d –7×10³ V/cm²). The high initial growth ofE _c is interpreted by means of Schottky exhaustion layers with non-zero gradient of the electric potential.In conclusion, the authors would like to thank H. Arend, P. Coufová and J. Jarý for providing high-quality single crystals and for much valuable advice during the work and V. Dvoák and K. Pátek for remarks on this paper.     

The thickness dependence of the permittivity of barium titanate single crystals

A thickness dependence of the permittivity ofc-domain barium titanate single crystals was found. The experimental results were explained by means of a model of a dielectric with surface layers. The thickness of the layer and the permittivity of the surface layer and bulk of the crystal were determined.

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Dynamic properties of iron borate single crystals in the high-rate range of magnetization reversal

A third portion is found in the curve of pulsed magnetization reversal of iron borate single crystals with an extremely small switching coefficient S _w3≈(3–5)×10⁻³ Oe μs. This portion is attributed to switching off the possible channels of energy losses by magnetoelastic vibrations. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 45, No. 4, 2003, pp. 641–642. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2003 by Kolotov, Matyunin, Pogozhev.     

Pockels effect in yttrium aluminum borate single crystals

Experimental measurements of linear electro-optical coefficients are reported for YAl₃(BO₃)₄ (YAB) single crystals for the two principal tensor components xyz and yyy at the wavelength of a CW semiconducting GaAlAs laser emitting at 1040 nm. We have found the values of the Pockels coefficients to be equal to 0.21 ± 0.06 and 0.56 ± 0.08 pm/V for 123 and 222 Pockels components, respectively. Additional measurements performed for the thin-cut samples with the thickness varying within the 100–500 μm have confirmed the values of the corresponding parameters. We have eliminated a contribution of the piezooptical coefficients as well as for other disturbing factors. We have established that the crystals with a different number of defects do not show any differences, which indicate the principal role of the borate clusters on the observed effects. The temperature changes are very low (due to a low ionic contribution), and do not exceed 5–6%, which indicates the low contribution of the electron-phonon to the Pockels effect. Because the YAB crystals possess a very large photothermal damage (more than 15 GW/cm²) and are only slightly temperature dependent. Hence, they may be proposed as promising materials for high-power laser electro-optic modulators.     

Uniaxial stress dependence of the dielectric properties of barium titanate single crystals

BaTiO₃ single crystals were grown by the melt-grown method. The effect of uniaxial pressure (0–1700 bar) on the dielectric properties of these crystals has been systematically studied. The external stress showed obvious effects on these properties. An increase in the difference between the Curie T_c and Curie–Weiss T₀ temperatures induced by the applied pressure is observed. This could be ascribed to the inducing of non-ferroelectric cubic islands in the tetragonal phase by the applied compressive stress. On the other hand, the pressure behavior of thermal hysteresis and the ??/?T vs. T plot strongly suggests that the phase transition changes to second-order type with increasing pressure. The Curie–Weiss constant obtained from a modified Curie–Weiss law strongly decreases with increasing pressure, suggesting that the mechanism of phase transition is going to order–disorder type. An increase in the difference between the Curie T_c and Burn's T_B temperatures with increasing pressure is observed. This could be ascribed to the narrowing of the temperature range on which the Curie–Weiss law is valid. In general, the obtained results are in good agreement with hydrostatic pressure data. Some kind of relaxation near T_c, which is strongly coupled with strain caused by applied compressive stress, is postulated.     

Luminescence of yttrium aluminum borate single crystals doped with manganese

The optical absorption and luminescence spectra of single crystals of yttrium aluminum borate YAl₃(BO₃)₄ doped with manganese ions are measured. It is established that the optical absorption spectra of yttrium aluminum borate single crystals doped with manganese ions are determined primarily by the contribution from the Mn⁴⁺ ions. The luminescence spectra of the YAl₃(BO₃)₄ single crystals doped with manganese exhibit narrow lines attributed to the Mn⁴⁺ ions and an extended multiband structure which is associated primarily with the contribution from the Mn²⁺ ions.     

On the interpretation of the thickness dependence of the coercive field of BaTiO3 single crystals

It is shown in the paper that the thickness dependence of the coercive field of unetched and of successively etched BaTiO₃ single crystals can be explained by the presence of a ferroelectric surface layer with decreased permittivity. In contrast to the Merz model [1], which considered a homogeneous layer, the authors assume that the permittivity inside the layer gradually decreases in the direction to the surface. By using experimental results it has been found for the constant, characterizing (according to [1]) the thickness dependence of the coercive field of unetched crystals, that=1.6 V, which is in satisfactory agreement with experiment.The authors thank V. Dvoák C.Sc, J. Fousek C.Sc, and Z. Málek C.Sc. for stimulating discussions.     

The dependence of surface tension of solid nanoscale films on their thickness

This paper presents a theoretical method to calculate the surface energy dependence on thickness of nanofilms based on the Landau theory. For the first time, it is shown that the surface energy of thin films having free surfaces is greater than the surface energy of macroscopic objects. For nano-objects having free surfaces, it is stated that their interior order parameter is always less than that of macroscopic solids of the same composition. It is obtained that the surface energy of thin films increases with decrease in their thickness passing its maximum meaning. A further decrease in the solid film thickness leads to a monotonic decrease in the surface energy.     

Photonic liquid crystals: Optical properties and their dependence on light polarization and temperature

Optical properties of cholesteric photonic crystals and their dependences on light polarization and temperature have been studied. The transmission spectra associated with diffraction depend on the direction of linear polarization of a light wave. The temperature dependence of the photonic band gap is determined. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions.     

The photoluminescence of ZnSe bulk single crystals excited by femtosecond pulse

This paper reports on the photoluminescence spectra of ZnSe single crystal with trace chlorine excited by the femtosecond laser pulse. Three emission bands, including second-harmonic-generation, two-photon-excited peak and a broad band at 500--700nm, were detected. The thermal strain induced by femtosecond pulse strongly influences the photoluminescence of ZnSe crystal. The corresponding strain \va in ZnSe crystal is estimated to be about 8.8 \ti10^-3 at room temperature. The zinc-vacancy, as the main point defect induced by femtosecond pulse, is successfully used to interpret the broad emission at 500--700nm. The research shows that self-activated luminescence possesses the recombination mechanism of donor--vacancy pair, and it is also influenced by a few selenium defects and the temperature. The rapid decrease in photoluminescence intensity of two-photon-excited fluorescence and second-harmonic generation emission at lower temperature is attributed to the fact that more point defects result in the thermal activation of the two-photo-absorption energy converting to the stronger recombination emission of chlorine--zinc vacancy in 500--700nm. The experimental results indicate that the femtosecond exciting photoluminescence shows a completely different emission mechanism to that of He--Cd exciting luminescence in ZnSe single crystal. The femtosecond laser exhibits a higher sensitive to the impurity in crystal materials, which can be recommended as an efficient way to estimate the trace impurity in high quality crystals.     

The dependence of EPR linewidth on concentration in Mn/MgO single crystals

The EPR spectra of Mn/MgO single crystals grown by electrofusion have been examined at 9 GHz for manganese concentration of between 840 and 2900 ppm. The values of the spin Hamiltonian parameters deduced agreed well with those previously reported by Low (1957, 1958) and by Matarrese and Kikuchi (1956). The variation of linewidth with manganese concentration was also examined and compared with the predictions of the de Biasi and Fernandes theory of dipolar broadening in magnetically dilute systems; the peak-to-peak linewidth is concentration dependent and is of the right order of magnitude to be explained adequately in terms of this model. The results indicate that clustering, effects are absent in these Mn/MgO single crystals.     

Orientation dependence of relativistic-positron annihilation in single crystals

An effect of the orientation dependence of the cross section for the single-photon annihilation of relativistic positrons with atomic electrons in a crystal is predicted. It is shown that the probability for the single-photon annihilation of a channeled positron in a crystal may be either suppressed in a crystal in relation to a homogeneous medium or, on the contrary, enhanced. The reason is that, depending on their incidence angle, the positrons may be either in the vicinity of ion planes of the crystal, where the electron density is higher, or far away from them, where the electron density is lower.     

Optical power limiting and transmitting properties of cadmium iodide single crystals: Temperature dependence

Optical limiting properties of the single crystals of cadmium iodide are investigated using ns laser pulses. It is found that the transmissions in the crystals increase with increasing temperature. However, they limit the transmissions at high input powers. The limiting power is found to be higher at higher temperature. From the measured transmission data, the photon absorption coefficients are estimated. The temperature dependence of the coefficients shows a decrease in magnitude with increasing temperature. This might be due to the temperature-dependent bandgap shift of the material. The results demonstrate that the cadmium iodide single crystals are promising materials for applications in optical power limiting devices.     

Temperature dependence of the lattice parameters and magnetic properties of Er3Ir single crystals

Er₃Ir single crystals were grown by the Czochralski method from a levitated melt. The electrical resistivity thermal dependence exhibits ordering temperature of the erbium sublattice at 40 K and a spin reorientation process at 22 K. The DC and AC magnetic susceptibility show antiferromagnetic ordering in the form of an asymmetric peak. The magnetization in strong magnetic fields up to 140 kOe exhibits anisotropy. The lattice parameters’ thermal dependence of Er₃Ir and Er₃Ni show anisotropy and anomalous behaviour.