Observation of relaxation modes in room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures

The dielectric measurements in SmC* and SmA phases of a room temperature ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture FLC-6980 in the cells of different thickness in planer alignment have been carried out in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1 MHz. A relaxation mode (called NRM) whose dielectric increment is less than the Goldstone mode has been observed in the SmC* phase. This mode appears due to the surface effect. Goldstone mode and the soft mode was observable in the vicinity of SmC*-SmA transition temperature (T _C*A). The dielectric parameters of the Goldstone mode, new mode and the soft mode have been studied as a function of frequency and temperature. The calculated values for f_NRM, δε^NRM and distribution parameter α_NRM are found to be 325 kHz, 6 and 0.156 for 5μm thick planer cell at 37°C. It is seen that in the vicinity of theT _C*A, soft mode obeys the Curie-Weiss law given by mean field theory. The results have been compared with materials of large spontaneous polarization.     

铁电薄膜可调带通滤波器

铁电薄膜的介电常数随外加电场强度的增加而减小.依据铁电薄膜的这一特性,提出了一种新颖的基于共面传输线结构的铁电薄膜可调带通滤波器.为了减小传输损耗,滤波器的导体部分由超导薄膜构成.滤波器的输入输出采用抽头线的方式分别与谐振器相接,外加电压通过输入输出端口直接施加到共面谐振器缝隙处的铁电薄膜上,用以改变铁电薄膜的介电常数,从而改变谐振器的谐振频率,实现带通滤波器通带频率的移动.这种新型可调带通滤波器具有结构紧凑、尺寸小及施加外加偏压容易等优点.仿真结果表明:铁电薄膜的介电常数在外加偏压下从250减小到150时,带通滤波器的传输特性曲线的形状基本保持不变,通带的中心频率从10.283GHz增加到10.518GHz,其3dB带宽保持在0.150GHz左右,反射损耗始终小于-17dB.     

Dielectric relaxation in ferroelectric (CH3)2NH2AL(so4)2 · 6H2O crystal

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the investigation of dielectric dispersion and ultrasonic velocity in the ferroelectric (CH₃)₂NH₂Al(SO₄)₂ · 6H₂O crystal. The crystal shows a critical slowing down process of polarization with an extremely long relaxation time of the dipole system (τ = 1.6 · 10^?7s at the phase transition point). The dielectric response over the frequency range up to 56 GHz in the paraelectric phase can be well described in terms of a monodispersive Debye-type formula. The activation energy of dipoles in the paraelectric phase is 0.11 eV = 8.5 kT_c . The results show that the proper ferroelectric phase transition is nearly critical and of the order-disorder type.     

An effective growth method to improve the homogeneity of relaxor ferroelectric single crystal Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3‐ Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3‐PbTiO3

Compositional segregation usually has negative effects on the growth of solid solution ferroelectric single crystals of Pb(In_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃‐Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃‐PbTiO₃ (abbr. PIN‐PMN‐PT or PIMNT). A modified Bridgman method was adopted in this work to control the segregation and improve the compositional homogeneity significantly. The characteristic of this work is to use multiround growths and gradient composition raw materials in order to keep the PbTiO₃ concentration constant during the crystal growth. As an example, the two‐round growth of ternary PIN‐PMN‐PT single crystal is conducted in the same Pt crucible with gradient raw materials, where the first‐round boule was used as the seed crystal for the second‐round growth. Our results show that the as‐grown (Ф80 mm × 270 mm) PIN‐PMN‐PT crystals exhibit higher phase transition temperatures (T_c∼180 °C, T_r/t∼110 °C) and larger coercive field (E_c∼5–5.5 kV/cm), which are much better than the performances of Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃‐PbTiO₃ crystals, and similar dielectric and piezoelectric performances (ε∼5000, tanδ∼1.25%, d₃₃∼1500 pC/N, k_t∼60%). And about 85 percent of the crystal boule grown by the two‐round growth technique could maintain its compositions around the morphotropic phase boundary.     

Large piezoresponse of lead-free Bi0.5(Na0.85K0.15)0.5TiO3 thin film

0.85Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃-0.15Bi_0.5K_0.5TiO₃ (BNKT15) lead-free thin films were prepared on Pt(111)/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by the chemical solution deposition method. BNKT15 are MPB composition in the Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃-Bi_0.5K_0.5TiO₃ (BNT-BKT) system. The maximum piezoelectric coefficient (d_33,f) value of BNKT15 thin film is approximately 75 pm/V, which is comparable to that of polycrystalline PZT thin films. These results suggest that BNKT15 thin film can be used as an alternative for PZT films in piezoelectric micro-electromechanical systems.     

A rate-dependent two-dimensional free energy model for ferroelectric single crystals

The one-dimensional free energy model for ferroelectric materials developed by Smith et al. [29–31] is generalized to two dimensions. The two-dimensional free energy potential proposed in this paper consists of four energy wells that correspond to four variants of the material. The wells are separated by four saddle points, representing the barriers for 90°-switching processes, and a local maximum, across which 180°-switching processes take place. The free energy potential is combined with evolution equations for the variant fractions based on the theory of thermally activated processes. The model is compared to recent measurements on BaTiO₃ single crystals by Burcsu et al. [8], and predicitions are made concerning the response to the application of in-plane multi-axial electric fields at various frequencies and loading directions. The kinetics of the 90°- and 180°-switching processes are discussed in detail.     

A multi-scale model linking microstructure and macro electric behaviors of ferroelectric field effect transistor

A multi-scale model linking microstructure and macro electric properties of ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) is established based on the phase field method and Maxwell's total current law. The simulation results confirm that the channel current of FeFET is modulated by local interface ferroelectric domains which are easily affected by the microstructure. Using the developed transistor model, we investigate the effects of location of dislocation sites on hysteresis behavior of ferroelectric film and electric behavior of FeFET. Interfacial dislocations have strong effects on hysteresis behavior than internal dislocations since the former can induce imprint behavior while the latter only reduce the coercive field. However, due to the c-domains at the interface, the effects of interfacial and internal dislocations on FeFET electrical properties are the exact opposite. The interfacial dislocations just increase the voltage required to toggle the channel while the internal dislocations can induce disappearance of the FeFET memory window.     

Switching dynamics and modeling of multi-domain Zr-Doped HfO2 ferroelectric thin films

HfO₂-based ferroelectrics have attracted attention as promising materials for advanced memory applications owing to their negative capacitance effect, high scalability, and full-CMOS compatibility. Accordingly, the switching dynamics of HfO₂ thin films have been actively discussed and simulated using the Landau-Khalatnikov equation (LK model). Although the simulated results agree with experimental results in many studies, there is a slight dissimilarity near the coercive field in the polarization-electric field curve. For accurate and general modeling, a new model that combines the conventional LK model and Euler's equation was proposed in this work. The model was examined under single-domain and multi-domain conditions. The simulated curves using the Landau-Euler method better fit with measured curves than those using the LK model.     

Size-dependent studies in ferromagnetic nanoparticles dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures

In the present study, ferromagnetic nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) of size (~20 nm, 40 nm) into ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mixture has been dispersed and investigated. Effect of size of NiNPs on the electro-optic, dielectric and optical properties of FLC mixture have been studied and discussed. A minor improvement in spontaneous polarisation, rotational viscosity and faster response time in NiNPs-FLC samples than pure FLC is noticed. Goldstone mode of relaxation frequency ~100 Hz is detected in all samples and follow a Debye type relaxation behaviour. In addition, it is observed that size of NiNPs does not have any remarkable effect on relaxation frequency and dielectric strength. A single absorption peak at 363, 362 Hz is also noticed in pure FLC and NiNPs-FLC samples.