We investigate the microstructural evolution in a ferroelectric to antiferroelectric phase transition at the morphotropic phase boundary in the Bi(1-x)SmxFeO3 system. Continuous Sm3+ substitution on the A-site induces short-range anti-parallel cation displacements as verified by the appearance of localized 1/4(110) weak spots in selected area electron diffraction patterns for 0.1<x<0.14 samples, and thus onset of antiferroelectricity. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations confirm that increasing the strength of the anti-parallel interactions (i.e. increasing x) induces a ferroelectric to antiferroelectric transition. For 0.14<x<0.2 antiphase oxygen octahedra tilts induce complete antiferroelectricity.
We report the finding of unusual scale-dependent symmetry below the ferroelectric Curie temperature in the perovskite Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 single crystals of morphotropic phase boundary compositions. The crystals of tetragonal symmetry (from x-ray diffraction experiments) on sub-micrometer scale exhibit a macroscopic (optically determined) cubic symmetry. This peculiar optical isotropy is explained by the anomalously small size of tetragonal ferroelectric domains. Upon further cooling the crystals transform to the phase consisting of micrometer-sized domains of monoclinic Cm symmetry.
Recently, based on the phase-field modeling, it was predicted that Hf1-xZrxO2 (HZO) exhibits the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in its compositional phase diagram. Here, we investigate the effect of structural changes between tetragonal (t) and orthorhombic (o) phases on the ferroelectric and dielectric properties of HZO films to probe the existence of MPB region. The structural analysis show that by adjusting the ozone dosage during the atomic layer deposition process and annealing conditions, different ratios of t- to o-phases (f_(t/o) ) were achieved which consequently affect the ferroel…
We report neutron inelastic scattering experiments on single crystal PbMg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$O$_{3}$ doped with 32\% PbTiO$_{3}$, a relaxor ferroelectric that lies close to the morphotropic phase boundary. When cooled under an electric field $\mathbf{E} \parallel$ [001] into tetragonal and monoclinic phases, the scattering cross section from transverse acoustic (TA) phonons polarized parallel to $\mathbf{E}$ weakens and shifts to higher energy relative to that under zero-field-cooled conditions. Likewise, the scattering cross section from transverse optic (TO) phonons polarized parallel to $\mat…
The contributory mechanisms associated with high piezoelectric response in piezoelectric ceramics have been examined by in-situ electric field dependent high energy synchro x-ray diffraction study. A comparative study of electric field induced lattice strain and the propensity for non-180o domain switching on two closeby compositions of a high performance piezoelectric alloy (1-x)PbTiO3-(x)BiScO3, one within the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region exhibiting d33 of 425 pC/N and another just outside the MPB region exhibiting d33 of 260 pC/N, unravelled that, inspite of the MPB specimen exh…
Many ferroelectric solid solutions exhibit enhanced electro-mechanical properties at the morphotropic boundary separating two phases with different orientations of polarization. The mechanism of properties enhancement is associated with easy paths for polarization rotation in anisotropically flattened free energy profile. Another mechanism of properties enhancement related to free energy flattening is polarization extension. It is best known at temperature-driven ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transitions and may lead to exceedingly large properties. Its disadvantage is temperature instabili…
A simple model to reproduce strong enhancement of dielectric response near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) is proposed. This model consists of long-range dipole-dipole interaction and compositional chemical disorder incorporated by the variation in lengths of dipole moments. By applying Monte Carlo simulation, we show that there appears a ferroelectric boundary phase between two types of antiferroelectric phases at an optimal strength of randomness. In the boundary phase, ferroelectric domain becomes remarkably large and flexible to external electric fields, leading to huge dielectric re…
The structural characteristics of the perovskite- based ferroelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-9%PbTiO3 at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region (x≃0.09) have been analyzed. The analysis is based on the symmetry adapted free energy functions under the assumption that the total polarization and the unit cell volume are conserved during the transformations between various morphotropic phases. Overall features of the relationships between the observed lattice constants at various conditions have been consistently explained. The origin of the anomalous physical properties at MPB is discussed.
The physical nature of the ferroelectric (FE), ferrielectric (FEI) and antiferroelectric (AFE) phases, their coexistence and spatial distributions underpin the functionality of antiferrodistortive (AFD) multiferroics in the vicinity of morphotropic phase transitions. Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) phenomenology and a semi-microscopic four sublattice model (FSM), we explore the behavior of different AFE, FEI and FE long-range orderings and their coexistence at the morphotropic phase boundaries in FE-AFE-AFD multiferroics. These theoretical predictions are compared with the experimental …
We present an ab initio study of the BFCO solid solution formed by multiferroics BiFeO3 (BFO) and BiCoO3 (BCO). We find that BFCO presents a strongly discontinuous morphotropic transition between BFO-like and BCO-like ferroelectric phases. Further, for all compositions such phases remain (meta)stable and retain well-differentiated properties. Our results thus suggest that an electric field can be used to switch between these structures, and show that such a switching involves large phase-change effects of various types, including piezoelectric, electric, and magnetoelectric ones.
The symmetric studies on the structure-property relationship of the unpoled and poled states of 0.67BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3 (0.67BF-0.33BT) were conducted to understand the origin of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in BF-BT. A typical relaxor-type dielectric anomaly was observed (Tf, ~627 K). The remnant polarization (Pr) and maximum value of electro-strain (Sm) increase clearly during heating (Pr, ~40 uC/cm2; Sm, 0.191 % under 40 kV/cm at 453 K). The first-cycle electro-strain loops indicate the difference in the polar state between 0.67BF-0.33BT and 0.94BiNaTiO3-0.06BaTiO3. Both the unpoled …
Physically parallel to ferroelectric morphotropic phase boundary, a phase boundary separating two ferromagnetic phase of different crystallographic symmetries was found in TbxDy1-xCo2. High-resolution synchrotron XRD has been carried out to offer experimental evidence for TbxDy1-xCo2. It has been proved that TbxDy1-xCo2 (0.6<x<0.7) is a morphotropic phase boundary and that the crystal structures of tetragonal (x<0.6) and rhombohedral (x>0.7) phase is distorted from a Laves Phase. Here, a first principles calculation provides a theoretical explanation on the origin of MBP in TbxDy1-xCo2 and is …
Morphotropic phase boundaries (MPBs) show substantial piezoelectric and dielectric responses, which have practical applications. The predicted existence of MPB in HfO2-ZrO2 solid solution thin film has provided a new way to increase the dielectric properties of a silicon-compatible device. Here, we present a new fabrication design by which the density of MPB and consequently the dielectric constant of HfO2-ZrO2 thin film was considerably increased. The density of MPB was controlled by fabrication of a 10-nm [1 nm-Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (Ferroelectric)/1 nm-ZrO2 (Antiferroelectric)] nanolaminate followed…
Two-dimensional polarity is intriguing but remains in the early stage. Here a structural evolution diagram is established for GeS monolayer, which leads a noncollinear ferrielectric $δ$-phase energetically as stable as the ferroelectric $α$-phase. Its ferrielectricity is induced by the phonon frustration, i.e., the competition between ferroelectric and antiferroelectric modes, providing more routes to tune its polarity. Besides its prominent properties like large band gap, large polarization, and high Curie temperature, more interestingly, the morphotropic phase boundary between $α$- and $δ$-p…
Raman spectra of PbZr1-xTixO3 ceramics with titanium concentration varying between 0.40 and 0.60 were measured at 7 K. By observing the concentration-frequency dependence of vibrational modes, we identified the boundaries among rhombohedral, monoclinic, and tetragonal ferroelectric phases. The analysis of the spectra was made in the view of theory group analysis making possible the assignment of some modes for the monoclinic phase.
We report on the discovery of a lead-free morphotropic phase boundary in Sm doped BiFeO3 with a simple perovskite structure using the combinatorial thin film strategy. The boundary is a rhombohedral to pseudo-orthorhombic structural transition which exhibits a ferroelectric (FE) to antiferroelectric (AFE) transition at approximately Bi0.86Sm0.14FeO3 with dielectric constant and out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficient comparable to those of epitaxial (001) oriented Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films at the MPB. The discovered composition may be a strong candidate of a Pb-free piezoelectric replacement…
The structure and properties of the ferromagnet Tb_{1-x}Dy_xFe_2 (Terfenol-D) are explored through the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) separating ferroic phases of differing symmetry. Our synchrotron data support a first order structural transition, with a broadening MPB width at higher temperatures. The optimal point for magnetomechanical applications is not centered on the MPB but lies on the rhombohedral side, where the high striction of the rhombohedral majority phase combines with the softened anisotropy of the MPB. We compare our findings with single ion crystal field theory and with f…
We report neutron inelastic scattering on single crystal 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-0.32PbTiO3 (PMN-0.32PT), a relaxor ferroelectric material that lies within the compositional range of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). Data were obtained between 100 K and 600 K under zero and non-zero electric field applied along the cubic [001] direction. The lowest energy, zone-center, transverse optic phonon is strongly damped and softens slowly at high temperature; however the square of the soft mode energy begins to increase linearly with temperature as in a conventional ferroelectric, which we term the s…
Using data obtained from first-principles calculations, we show that the position of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and transition temperature at MPB in ferroelectric perovskite solutions can be predicted with quantitative accuracy from the properties of the constituent cations. We find that the mole fraction of PbTiO$_3$ at MPB in Pb(B$'$B$''$)O$_3$-PbTiO$_3$, BiBO$_3$-PbTiO$_3$ and Bi(B$'$B$''$)O$_3$-PbTiO$_3$ exhibits a linear dependence on the ionic size (tolerance factor) and the ionic displacements of the B-cations as found by density functional theory calculations. This dependenc…
A monoclinic phase was recently discovered near the morphotropic phase boundary in several high-performance piezoelectric perovskite solid solutions, but its properties have not been reported. In this paper the dielectric, piezo- and ferroelectric properties of the monoclinic Pm phase in the (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 -xPbTiO3 perovskite system are studied. In a (001)-oriented crystal of composition x=0.33, ferroelectric hysteresis loops with remanent polarization of 23 uC/cm^2 are displayed. In poled monoclinic crystals, under unipolar drive up to 10 kV/cm, the domain walls remain unchanged, the p…
Enhanced room-temperature electromechanical coupling in the lead-free ferroelectric system $(1-x)$BaZr$_{0.2}$Ti$_{0.8}$O$_{3}$ - $x$Ba$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$TiO$_{3}$ (abbreviated as BZCT) at $x=0.5$ is attributed to the existence of a morphotropic phase region (MPR) containing an intermediate orthorhombic ($O$) phase between terminal rhombohedral ($R$) BZT and tetragonal ($T$) BCT phases. However, there is ambiguity regarding the morphotropic phase transition in BZCT at room temperature - while some experiments suggest a single $O$ phase within the MPR, others indicate coexistence of three polar …
The complex elastic compliance and dielectric susceptibility of (Na_{0.5}Bi_{0.5})_{1-x}Ba_{x}TiO_{3} (NBT-BT) have been measured in the composition range between pure NBT and the morphotropic phase boundary included, 0 <= x <= 0.08. The compliance of NBT presents sharp peaks at the rhombohedral/tetragonal and tetragonal/cubic transitions, allowing the determination of the tetragonal region of the phase diagram, up to now impossible due to the strong lattice disorder and small distortions and polarizations involved. In spite of ample evidence of disorder and structural heterogeneity, the R-T t…
A first-principles-derived approach is used to study structural, piezoelectric and dielectric properties of Pb(Zr_{1-x}Ti_{x})O_{3} (PZT) solid solutions near the morphotropic phase boundary at low temperature. Three ferroelectric phases are found to exist: a tetragonal phase for larger x compositions, a rhombohedral phase for smaller x compositions, and the recently discovered monoclinic phase in between. In this monoclinic phase, the polarization associated with the Zr atoms behaves differently from the polarization associated with the Ti atoms. As the composition x decreases, the former rot…
For decades it has been a well-known fact that among the few ferroelectric compounds in the perovskite family namely BaTiO3, KNbO3, PbTiO3 Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of BaTiO3 is considerably higher than the others in polycrystalline form at room temperature. Further, similar to ferroelectric alloys exhibiting morphotropic phase boundary, single crystals of BaTiO3 exhibits anomalously large piezoelectric response when poled away from the direction of spontaneous polarization at room temperature. These anomalous features in BaTiO3 remained unexplained so far from…
Complex polar superstructure controlled thermal conductivity in ferroelectric PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela（圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉大学）；Universidad Rey Juan Carlos（胡安卡洛斯国王大学）；Universitat de Barcelona（巴塞罗那大学）；Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)（加泰罗尼亚纳米科学与技术研究所）；ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility（阿尔巴同步辐射光源设施）
Temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity of lead-free (LixNa1-x)NbO3 for nominal x = 0.04-0.20, prepared by solid state reaction followed by sintering, was studied to resolve often debated issue pertaining to exactness of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) location along with structural aspects and phase stability in the system near MPB. Interestingly, a diffuse phase transition has been observed in the dielectric permittivity peak arising from the disorder induced in A-site and structural frustration in the perovskite cell due to Li substitution. A partial phase diagram has been proposed …
It appeared worthwhile to us to present a state-of-the-art look at the field of ferroelectrics. We are certainly not attempting to provide a complete review of all aspects of the field of ferroelectrics over the last years but we wish to transport a flavour of the current excitement in the field through the (subjective) choice of four specific examples of current interest: (i) Piezoelectrics and the morphotropic phase boundary, (ii) Multiferroics, (iii) The effect of high pressure on ferroelectrics and (iv) Strain-engineering in ferroelectric oxide thin films. For each topic we will try to wor…
Many ferroelectric devices are based on doped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics with compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), at which the relevant material's properties approach their maximum. Based on a synchrotron x-ray diffraction study of MPB PZT, bulk fatigue is unambiguously found to arise from a less effective field induced tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation, at which the degradation of the polarization flipping is detected by a less intense and more diffuse anomaly in the atomic displacement parameter of lead. The time dependence of the ferroelectric response…
Here, we report the unusual behaviour shown by the (BiFeO3)1-x-(PbTiO3)x (BF-xPT) films prepared using a multilayer deposition approach by chemical solution deposition method. Thin film samples of various compositions were prepared by depositing several bilayers of BF and PT precursors by varying the BF or PT layer thicknesses. X-ray diffraction showed that final samples of all compositions show mixing of the two compounds resulting in a single phase mixture, also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. In contrast to bulk equilibrium compositions, our samples show a monoclinic (MA type…
We report here the presence of three coexisting ferroelectric phases in a lead-free lithium sodium niobate (Li$_{x}$Na$_{1-x}$NbO$_{3}$; LNNx) system stable for $0.15 \leq x \leq 0.80$, which contrasts the review report of Dixon and Lightfoot [Phys. Rev. B $\textbf{97}$, 224105 (2018)]. More importantly, we have identified LNN20 as an important composition for technological applications due to its high dielectric permittivity, low loss, and high ferroelectric response. The anomalous dielectric and ferroelectric responses in LNN20 have been attributed to the morphotropic phase boundary like nat…
Though the electrical responses of the various polymorphs found in ferroelectric polycrystalline thin film HfO$_2$ are now well characterized, little is currently understood of this novel material's grain sub-structure. In particular, the formation of domain and phase boundaries requires investigation to better understand phase stabilization, switching, and interconversion. Here, we apply scanning transmission electron microscopy to investigate the atomic structure of boundaries in these materials. In particular, we find orthorhombic/orthorhombic domain walls and coherent orthorhombic/monoclin…
We identify a first-order, isosymmetric transition between a ferrielectric (FiE) and ferroelectric (FE) state in $A$-site ordered LaScO$_{3}$/BiScO$_{3}$ and LaInO$_{3}$/BiInO$_{3}$ superlattices. Such a previously unreported ferroic transition is driven by the easy switching of cation displacements without changing the overall polarization direction or crystallographic symmetry. Epitaxial strains less than 2% are predicted to be sufficient to transverse the phase boundary, across which we capture a ~5X increase in electric polarization. In a fashion similar to classic Pb-based perovskite cera…
Ferroelectric perovskite oxides possess a large electrocaloric (EC) effect, but usually at high temperatures near the ferroelectric/paraelectric phase transition temperature, which limits their potential application as next-generation solid-state cooling devices. We use classical molecular dynamics to study the electric field induced phase transitions and EC effect in PMN-PT (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-PbTiO3). We find that the maximum EC strength of PMN-PT occurs within the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) region at 300 K. The large adiabatic temperature change is caused by easy rotation of polarization…
The importance of a high shear coefficient d15 (or d24) to the piezoelectric properties of domain-engineered and polycrystalline ferroelectrics is discussed. The extent of polarization rotation, as a mechanism of piezoelectric response, is directly correlated to the shear coefficient. The terms "rotator" and "extender" are introduced to distinguish the contrasting behaviors of crystals such as 4mm BaTiO3 and PbTiO3. In "rotator" ferroelectrics, where d15 is high relative to the longitudinal coefficient d33, polarization rotation is the dominant mechanism of piezoelectric response; the maximum …
High-strain piezoelectric materials are often ceramics with a complicated constitution. In particular, PZT is used with compositions near to a so-called morphotropic phase boundary, where not only different variants of the same phase (domains), but different phases may coexist. Micro-mechanical models for ferroelectric ceramics would be much more realistic, if these effects could be incorporated. In this paper, we consider the conditions of mechanical and electrical compatibility of ferroelectric domain structures. We are able to address the question of coexistence of different crystallographi…
Multiferroic particulate composites have been fabricated by taking the morphotropic phase boundary composition of ferroelectric phase Bi(Ni1/2Ti1/2)O3-PbTiO3 and magnetic phase (Ni,Zn)Fe2O4. The ferroelectric phase has coexisting monoclinic and tetragonal perovskite structures with space group Pm and P4mm, respectively whereas the magnetic phase has spinel cubic structure with space group Fd3m. Rietveld structural analysis for the each components of composite reveals that the tetragonality (c/a) of the ferroelectric phase continuously increases with increasing the concentration of magnetic pha…
The polarization and strain response of ferroelectric materials at fields below the macroscopic coercive field is of a paramount importance for the operation of many electronic devices. The response of real ferroelectric and related materials is in general complex and difficult to interpret. The reason for this is that many processes in a ferroelectric material contribute to its properties, often concurrently. Examples include motion of ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains, presence of domains within domains, dynamics of different types of polar nano-entities, interaction of polar nano-entit…
Using Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire approach, we predict the intrinsic instability of the ferroelectric-ferroelastic domain walls in the multiferroic BiFeO3 emerging from the interplay between the gradient terms of the antiferrodistortive and ferroelectric order parameters at the walls. These instabilities are the interface analogue of the structural instabilities in the vicinity of phase coexistence in the bulk; and so they do not steam from incomplete polarization screening in thin films or its spatial confinement, electrostrictive or flexoelectric coupling. The effect of BiFeO3 material parame…
A ferroelectric monoclinic phase of space group $Cm$ ($M_A$ type) has been discovered in 0.65Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3})O_3$-0.35PbTiO$_3$ by means of high resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction. It appears at room temperature in a single crystal previously poled under an electric field of 43 kV/cm applied along the pseudocubic [001] direction, in the region of the phase diagram around the morphotropic phase boundary between the rhombohedral (R3m) and the tetragonal (P4mm) phases. The monoclinic phase has lattice parameters a = 5.692 A, b = 5.679 A, c = 4.050 A and $β$ = $90.15^{\circ}$, with th…
The structural evolution of the strain-driven morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in BiFeO3 films has been investigated using synchrotron x-ray diffractometry in conjunction with scanning probe microscopy. Our results demonstrate the existence of mixed-phase regions that are mainly made up of two heavily tilted ferroelectric triclinic phases. Analysis of first-principles computations suggests that these two triclinic phases originate from a phase separation of a single monoclinic state accompanied by elastic matching between the phase-separated states. These first-principle calculations further …
We review some of the current research on two of the ultra-high piezoelectric relaxors Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) and Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN). The discovery of a monoclinic phase in Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 (PZT) in 1999 by Noheda et al. forced a reassessment of the structural symmetries found near the morphotropic phase boundary in PZT, as well as in the PbTiO3 (PT) doped systems PZN-PT, and PMN-PT. All three systems are now known to have nearly identical phase diagrams that exhibit a rhombohedral-monoclinic-tetragonal structural sequence with increasing PbTiO3 concentration. The dynamical properties of the…
Recent structural studies of ferroelectric PbZr(1-x)TixO3 (PZT) with x= 0.48, have revealed a new monoclinic phase in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), previously regarded as the the boundary separating the rhombohedral and tetragonal regions of the PZT phase diagram. In the present paper, the stability region of all three phases has been established from high resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction measurements on a series of highly homogeneous samples with 0.42 <=x<= 0.52. At 20K the monoclinic phase is stable in the range 0.46 <=x<= 0.51, and this range narrows …
A first-principles-derived scheme, that incorporates ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive degrees of freedom, is developed to study finite-temperature properties of PbZr1-xTixO3 solid solutions near its morphotropic phase boundary. The use of this numerical technique (i) resolves controversies about the monoclinic ground-state for some Ti compositions, (ii) leads to the discovery of an overlooked phase, and (iii) yields three multiphase points, that are each associated with four phases. Additional neutron diffraction measurements strongly support some of these predictions.
Machine learning has emerged as a powerful tool for the analysis of mesoscopic and atomically resolved images and spectroscopy in electron and scanning probe microscopy, with the applications ranging from feature extraction to information compression and elucidation of relevant order parameters to inversion of imaging data to reconstruct structural models. However, the fundamental limitation of machine learning methods is their correlative nature, leading to extreme susceptibility to confounding factors. Here, we implement the workflow for causal analysis of structural scanning transmission el…
Despite the technological significance of the tetragonal PbTiO3 for the piezoelectric transducer industry, its high pressure behaviour is quite controversial as two entirely different scenarios, involving pressure induced (1) morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) like structural transition with concomitant rotation of the ferroelectric polarization vector and (2) antiferrodistortive (AFD) phase transition followed by emergence of a reentrant ferroelectric phase, have been proposed in recent theoretical and experimental studies. We have attempted to address these controversies through a high resolu…
A Boltzmann statistical approach for the analysis of polarization states in mixed phase ferroelectric materials: application to morphological phase boundary
The coexistence of different ferroelectric phases enables the tunability of the macroscopic properties and extensive applications from piezoelectric transducers to nonvolatile memories. Here we develop a thermodynamic model to predict the stability and low-energy orientations of boundaries between different phases in ferroelectrics. Taking lead zirconate titanate and bismuth ferrite as two examples, we demonstrate that the low-energy orientations of interphase boundaries are largely determined by minimizing the electrostatic and elastic energies. Phase-field simulations are employed to analyze…
We have performed molecular dynamics simulations using a shell model potential developed by fitting first principles results to describe the behavior of the relaxor-ferroelectric (1-x)PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-xPbTiO3 (PMN-xPT) as function of concentration and temperature, using site occupancies within the random site model. In our simulations, PMN is cubic at all temperatures and behaves as a polar glass. As a small amount of Ti is added, a weak polar state develops, but structural disorder dominates, and the symmetry is rhombohedral. As more Ti is added the ground state is clearly polar and the system …
Observations by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveal the changes in domains morphology in 0.885(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-0.05(Bi1/2K1/2)TiO3-0.015(Bi1/2Li1/2)TiO3-0.05BaTiO3 ceramics. Evolution of the macroscopic ferroelectric domains has been observed at 25 oC to 180 oC. The ferroelectric domains and their walls reduce progressively with increasing temperature. In the selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns the crystallographic evidence of antiferroelectric domain is not found over the temperature range, which provides the evidence that the ferroelectric-antiferroelectric t…
Relaxor ferrolectrics are important in technological applications due to a strong electromechanical response, energy storage capacity, electrocaloric effect, and pyroelectric energy conversion properties. Current efforts to discover and design new materials in this class generally rely on substitutional doping of known ferroelectrics, as slight changes to local compositional order can significantly affect the Curie temperature, morphotropic phase boundary, and electromechanical responses. In this work, we demonstrate that moving to the strong limit of compositional complexity in an ABO3 perovs…
