Optical,etching, and interferometric studies on ferroelectric PbNb2O6

Optical, interferometric and etching studies of (001) surfaces of ferroelectric PbNb₂O₆ are presented. It is found that crystal growth takes place mainly by layer formation. The layer boundaries can be distinguished from the domain lines by interferometric studies. Thermal etch pits are found near 90° domain walls and the layer boundaries. The etching studies show that these pits are at the sites of dislocations, and it is deduced that no extensive motion of dislocation takes place at the Curie-temperature in the process of domain formation.     

Domain formation inside thick crystals of ferroelectric PbNb2O6

Stress dependence of domains in thick crystals of PbNb₂O₆ is reported. Successive etching shows numerous domains in the bulk not extending to the surface. These domains have correlation with the dislocation substructure in the bulk. The dislocations are in the form of small loops, and domain walls are found terminating along with these loops. The general problem of volume nucleation is discussed, and it is suggested that these dislocation loops play a significant role in domain formation.     

Domain pattern in ferroelectric triglycine sulphate using pyroelectric effect

A method to study domain structure in ferroelectrics, using pyroelectric effect is described. Variation of pyroelectric signal from the surface of a triglycine sulphate crystal plate has been studied by scanning the surface of the crystal with a low wattage He-Ne laser beam. The integrated pyroelectric signal is due to two components, namely, (1) the primary component arising out of the change in spontaneous polarization with temperature and (2) the delayed component arising out of the possible polarization reversal. The component of an electric field along the ferroelectric axis due to thermal hemisphere within the crystal plate formed by the laser beam has been calculated and shown to exceed coercive field, making polarization reversal possible. The delayed pyroelectric signal is a measure of polarization reversal within the patch illuminated and its observed variation over the surface yields information of the domain structure.     

Domain wall structure of weak ferromagnets according to Raman

Visualizing the domain structure and the fine structure of domain walls in orthoferrites based on Raman was proposed. The Raman mapping imaging was obtained for the straight and curved domain wall at line 221 cm⁻¹. The parameters of the domain structure and wall obtained by Raman are consistent with magnetooptical measurements.     

Domain wall resistance in epitaxial Fe wires

We studied the magnetoresistance behavior of epitaxial Fe wires grown on GaAs(1 1 0) with varying widths at room temperature. Single nanowires show a wire width (w) dependence of the coercive field, which increases with 1/w for decreasing wire widths. This enables the pinning of a single domain wall in the connection area of two wires with different widths. Magnetoresistance measurements of such wire structures clearly reveal resistance contributions arising from a domain wall. The presence of the domain wall is proven by photoemission electron-microscopy with synchrotron radiation. Moreover, micromagnetic simulations are performed to determine the spin orientations, especially within the domain wall. This permits us to calculate the anisotropic magnetoresistance caused by the domain wall. Taking this into account, we determine the intrinsic domain wall resistance, for which we found a positive value of 0.2%, in agreement with theoretical predictions.     

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     

Dynamics of H2O molecules in ferroelectric K4Fe(CN)6 · 3H2O

The infrared spectrum of potassium ferrocyanide trihydrate has been recorded both in the para and ferroelectric phases. From a combined study of the IR and Raman spectra, it is concluded that there are two sets of water molecules present in the lattice, one set being involved in stronger hydrogen bonding than the other. The ferroelectric transition appears to be associated with an ordering of the water dipoles.     

Phase transitions and modulated structure of the incommensurate phase in Mg[H2O]6SiF6 crystal

The temperature and angular dependences of the EPR spectra of Mg[H₂O]₆SiF₆:Mn²⁺ crystal were investigated in order to clarify the successive phase transitions and existence of the incommensurate phase. Five successive phase transitions were found to occur, and phase II was found to be incommensurately modulated. The modulated structure is caused mainly by the vibrational displacement of the Mg[H₂O]²⁺ ₆ ion along the c-axis. The soliton density of this phase is almost independent of temperature and remains equal to unity.     

Domain wall roughness in epitaxial ferroelectric PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 thin films

The static configuration of ferroelectric domain walls was investigated using atomic force microscopy on epitaxial PbZr(0.2)Ti(0.8)O(3) thin films. Measurements of domain wall roughness reveal a power-law growth of the correlation function of relative displacements B(L) alpha L(2zeta) with zeta approximately 0.26 at short length scales L, followed by an apparent saturation at large L. In the same films, the dynamic exponent mu was found to be approximately 0.6 from independent measurements of domain wall creep. These results give an effective domain wall dimensionality of d = 2.5, in good agreement with theoretical calculations for a two-dimensional elastic interface in the presence of random-bond disorder and long-range dipolar interactions.     

Electronic and spatial structure of nanoclusters of Sn2P2S6 ferroelectric crystals

The results obtained from ab initio calculations of the optimized configuration and electronic structure of the cluster models of Sn₂P₂S₆ ferroelectric crystals are presented. The calculations have been performed using the spin-restricted Hartree-Fock method and the density functional theory in the DZVP basis set. It has been shown that the clusters are stable and retain the topology of the simulated crystal. The influence of the cluster sizes on the properties under investigation has been analyzed.     

Study of the domain structure evolution in single crystals of relaxor ferroelectric Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6:Ce1

Optical visualization with simultaneous recording of the switching current was used for studying of domain structure evolution in single crystals relaxor ferroelectric strontium barium niobate (Sr_0.61Ba_0.39Nb₂O₆) doped by cerium (0.22 mol %) (SBN61:Ce). It was shown that the maze domain structures can be observed during polarization reversal due to local change of refractive index induced by formation of microscale domains with charged domain walls. It was proposed, that optical inhomogeneities occur in the switching regions, while the optical uniform areas correspond to regions where the switching either has not started yet or has already completed. The original mathematical treatment of the obtained images and switching currents has been used for quantitative characterization of the polarization reversal process.     

High-pressure dielectric studies of a novel hydrogen-bonded ferroelectric (NH4)2H2P2O6

The hydrostatic pressure effect on the dielectric properties of (NH₄)₂H₂P₂O₆ ferroelectric crystal was studied for pressures from 0.1 MPa to 360 MPa and for temperatures from 100 to 190 K. The pressure–temperature phase diagram obtained is linear with increasing pressure. The paraelectric–ferroelectric phase transition temperature decreases with increasing pressure with the pressure coefficient dT_c/dp=?5.16×10^?2 K MPa^?1. Additionally, the pressure dependences of Curie–Weiss constants for the crystal in paraelectric (C₊) and ferroelectric (C_?) phases are evaluated and discussed. The possible mechanism of paraelectric–ferroelectric phase transition is also discussed.     

Charge-stripe order in the electronic ferroelectric LuFe2O4

The structural features of the charge ordering states in LuFe(2)O(4) are characterized by in situ cooling transmission electron microscopy observations from 300 K down to 20 K. Two distinctive structural modulations, a major q1=(1/3,1/3,2) and a weak q2 = q1/10+(0,0,3/2), have been well determined at the temperature of approximately 20 K. Systematic analysis demonstrates that the charges at low temperatures are well crystallized in a charge-stripe phase, in which the charge-density wave behavior in a nonsinusoidal fashion results in elemental electric dipoles for ferroelectricity. It is also noted that the charge ordering and ferroelectric domains often change markedly with lowering temperatures and yield a rich variety of structural phenomena.     

Domain and wall structures in films with helical magnetization profile

We study soft magnetic bilayers having orthogonal, in-plane easy axes. The layers are thicker than the Bloch wall width linked to the anisotropy, so that a helical magnetization with a large angle exists across the sample thickness. The magnetic domains structure has been investigated at both sample surfaces, using magneto-optical microscopy. The domain structure is found to be similar to that of double films with biquadratic coupling. Two kinds of domain walls are identified, namely with a 90° and 180° rotation of the average magnetization. The detailed structure and energy of these walls are studied by micromagnetic calculations.     

Domain walls confined in magnetic nanotubes with uniaxial anisotropy

We present calculations of the different domain wall structures confined in magnetic nanotubes, such as transverse wall, asymmetric vortex wall, branch fashion wall, and horse-saddle wall. The wall structures were calculated by micromagnetic simulations. The tube radii R=50 nm and 100 nm, and aspect ratios length/radius L/R≤15 were considered. The magnetic phase diagrams of the stability of different kinds of the domain walls were plotted as function of the tube aspect ratio L/R and the tube thickness (difference of the outer and inner tube radii).     

Electronic structure and properties of strontium ferrite Sr3Fe2O6

The electronic structure of strontium ferrite Sr₃Fe₂O₆ was calculated using the tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital method (TB LMTO) in the local spin density approximation of density functional theory with Coulomb correlations correction (LSDA+U). The semiconducting character of the spectrum with charge transfer energy gap of 1.82 eV was obtained in reasonably good agreement with experimental data. The iron ions are found to be in the high spin state. The calculated value of the local spin magnetic moment of Fe³⁺ ion is 3.94 μ_B which is not typical for trivalent iron ion in the high spin state. It is shown that the strong hybridization between Fe3d and O2p orbitals favors the d⁶ L configuration of Fe³⁺ ion, where L is a hole in the oxygen p shell. The mechanism of oxygen transport in ferrite is discussed basing on the total energy calculations of the different spatial configurations of oxygen vacancies.     

Mn_2[V_(12)B_(16)O_(52)(OH)_6](en)_2(H_3O)_6(H_2O)_5(en=ethylenediamine)的结构及谱学研究

采用水热合成法合成了一种结构新颖的多硼钒氧簇化合物Mn2[V12B16O52(OH)6](en)2(H3O)6(H2O)5(en=ethylenediamine)1,通过单晶X射线衍射确定该化合物的结构。化合物1中,在ab平面上,簇单元之间通过[Mn(H2O)2]2+连接成二维层状结构,另外,层与层之间在c方向上通过氢键连接成三维空间结构。此外,对化合物1的谱学性质进行了红外光谱、磁和热微扰下的二维红外相关光谱、紫外-可见固体漫反射光谱分析,探讨了其结构与谱学性质的关系。磁微扰的二维红外相关光谱表明B—O,V—O—V和Mn—O—B的伸缩振动对于磁场的变化比较敏感,热微扰的二维红外相关光谱表明B—OH,B—O,V—O—V和Mn—O—B的伸缩振动对热微扰比较敏感。     

Domain dynamics and magneto-electronics in magnetic thin films and nanowires

Recent theoretical results are highlighted that illustrate some of the interesting phenomena associated with magnetic domain boundary walls. Two problems will be discussed: dynamics associated with domain wall propagation, and effects related to spin transport through domain walls. For the first problem, an example of wall interaction and motion through a random potential will be discussed with reference to the general problem of roughening transitions. Images of domain dynamics in thin films of ion irradiated Co reveal a de-roughening transition associated with long range magnetostatic interactions between pairs of domain walls. A scaling theory of this transition is described in which a curious type of dynamic hysteresis can occur. For the second problem, results from calculations of ballistic charge and spin transport through domain boundary walls are discussed in terms of an effective circuit model.     

Observation of electronic ferroelectric polarization in multiferroic YMn2O5

We report the observation of a magnetic polarization of the O 2p states in YMn(2)O(5) through the use of soft x-ray resonant scattering at the oxygen K edge. Remarkably, we find that the temperature dependence of the integrated intensity of this signal closely follows the macroscopic electric polarization, and hence is proportional to the ferroelectric order parameter. This is in contrast with the temperature dependence observed at the Mn L(3) edge, which reflects the Mn magnetic order parameter. First-principles calculations provide a microscopic understanding of these results and show that a spin-dependent hybridization of O 2p and Mn 3d states results in a purely electronic contribution to the ferroelectric polarization, which can exist in the absence of lattice distortions.     

Magnetically driven ferroelectric order in Ni3V2O8

We show that long-range ferroelectric and incommensurate magnetic order appear simultaneously in a single phase transition in Ni3V2O8. The temperature and magnetic-field dependence of the spontaneous polarization show a strong coupling between magnetic and ferroelectric orders. We determine the magnetic symmetry using Landau theory for continuous phase transitions, which shows that the spin structure alone can break spatial inversion symmetry leading to ferroelectric order. This phenomenological theory explains our experimental observation that the spontaneous polarization is restricted to lie along the crystal b axis and predicts that the magnitude should be proportional to a magnetic order parameter.