Recent progress in relaxor ferroelectrics with perovskite structure
TL;DR: In this article, the lattice dynamics and the peculiar dielectric relaxation in relaxors are discussed, and theoretical models for the mechanisms of PNR formation and freezing into nonergodic glassy state are also presented.
Abstract: Relaxor ferroelectrics were discovered almost 50 years ago among the complex oxides with perovskite structure. In recent years this field of research has experienced a revival of interest. In this paper we review the progress achieved. We consider the crystal structure including quenched compositional disorder and polar nanoregions (PNR), the phase transitions including compositional order-disorder transition, transition to nonergodic (probably spherical cluster glass) state and to ferroelectric phase. We discuss the lattice dynamics and the peculiar (especially dielectric) relaxation in relaxors. Modern theoretical models for the mechanisms of PNR formation and freezing into nonergodic glassy state are also presented.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a review of magnetoelectric domain walls is presented, focusing on magneto-electrics and multiferroics but making comparisons where possible with magnetic domains and domain walls.
Abstract: Domains in ferroelectrics were considered to be well understood by the middle of the last century: They were generally rectilinear, and their walls were Ising-like. Their simplicity stood in stark contrast to the more complex Bloch walls or N\'eel walls in magnets. Only within the past decade and with the introduction of atomic-resolution studies via transmission electron microscopy, electron holography, and atomic force microscopy with polarization sensitivity has their real complexity been revealed. Additional phenomena appear in recent studies, especially of magnetoelectric materials, where functional properties inside domain walls are being directly measured. In this paper these studies are reviewed, focusing attention on ferroelectrics and multiferroics but making comparisons where possible with magnetic domains and domain walls. An important part of this review will concern device applications, with the spotlight on a new paradigm of ferroic devices where the domain walls, rather than the domains, are the active element. Here magnetic wall microelectronics is already in full swing, owing largely to the work of Cowburn and of Parkin and their colleagues. These devices exploit the high domain wall mobilities in magnets and their resulting high velocities, which can be supersonic, as shown by Kreines' and co-workers 30 years ago. By comparison, nanoelectronic devices employing ferroelectric domain walls often have slower domain wall speeds, but may exploit their smaller size as well as their different functional properties. These include domain wall conductivity (metallic or even superconducting in bulk insulating or semiconducting oxides) and the fact that domain walls can be ferromagnetic while the surrounding domains are not.
1,022 citations
Additional excerpts
...Relaxors combine chemical segregation at the nanoscale and nanoscopic polar domains (Cross, 1987; Bokov and Ye, 2006)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize the principles of dielectric energy-storage applications, and recent developments on different types of Dielectrics, namely linear dielectrics (LDE), paraelectric, ferroelectrics, and antiferro electrics, focusing on perovskite lead-free dielectors.
941 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact factors on the hysteresis loops are discussed based on recent developments in ferroelectric and related materials, including the effect of materials (grain size and grain boundary, phase and phase boundary, doping, anisotropy, thickness), aging, and measurement conditions (applied field amplitude, fatigue, frequency, temperature, stress), which can affect the hysteretic behaviors of the ferroelectrics.
Abstract: Due to the nature of domains, ferroics, including ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and ferroelastic materials, exhibit hysteresis phenomena with respect to external driving fields (magnetic field, electric field, or stress). In principle, every ferroic material has its own hysteresis loop, like a fingerprint, which contains information related to its properties and structures. For ferroelectrics, many characteristic parameters, such as coercive field, spontaneous, and remnant polarizations can be directly extracted from the hysteresis loops. Furthermore, many impact factors, including the effect of materials (grain size and grain boundary, phase and phase boundary, doping, anisotropy, thickness), aging (with and without poling), and measurement conditions (applied field amplitude, fatigue, frequency, temperature, stress), can affect the hysteretic behaviors of the ferroelectrics. In this feature article, we will first give the background of the ferroic materials and multiferroics, with an emphasis on ferroelectrics. Then it is followed by an introduction of the characterizing techniques for the loops, including the polarization–electric field loops and strain–electric field curves. A caution is made to avoid misinterpretation of the loops due to the existence of conductivity. Based on their morphologic features, the hysteresis loops are categorized to four groups and the corresponding material usages are introduced. The impact factors on the hysteresis loops are discussed based on recent developments in ferroelectric and related materials. It is suggested that decoding the fingerprint of loops in ferroelectrics is feasible and the comprehension of the material properties and structures through the hysteresis loops is established.
869 citations
TL;DR: A survey of the literature for ca. one thousand B-site substituted perovskite oxides can be found in this article, together with their electronic and magnetic properties and properties.
815 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the status and perspectives of this new class of actuator ceramics are presented, aiming at covering a wide spectrum of topics, i.e., from fundamentals to practice, and a recent discovery has greatly extended our tool box for material design by furnishing (Bi 1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based (PZT) with a reversible phase transition between an ergodic relaxor state and a ferroelectric with the application of electric field.
Abstract: In response to the current environmental regulations against the use of lead in daily electronic devices, a number of investigations have been performed worldwide in search for alternative piezoelectric ceramics that can replace the market-dominating lead-based ones, representatively Pb(Zr
x
Ti1-x
)O3 (PZT)-based solid solutions. Selected systems of potential importance such as chemically modified and/or crystallographically textured (K, Na)NbO3 and (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based solid solutions have been developed. Nevertheless, only few achievements have so far been introduced to the marketplace. A recent discovery has greatly extended our tool box for material design by furnishing (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based ceramics with a reversible phase transition between an ergodic relaxor state and a ferroelectric with the application of electric field. This paired the piezoelectric effect with a strain-generating phase transition and extended opportunities for actuator applications in a completely new manner. In this contribution, we will present the status and perspectives of this new class of actuator ceramics, aiming at covering a wide spectrum of topics, i.e., from fundamentals to practice.
778 citations
References
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TL;DR: A review of dielectric data for a wide range of solids proves the existence of a remarkable "universality" of frequency and time responses which is essentially incompatible with the multiplicity of currently accepted detailed interpretations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A review of dielectric data for a wide range of solids proves the existence of a remarkable ‘universality’ of frequency and time responses which is essentially incompatible with the multiplicity of currently accepted detailed interpretations. Certain unique features of the universal behaviour strongly suggest the dominant role of many-body interactions.
4,234 citations
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01 Jan 1979TL;DR: In this article, a brief description is given of the various manifestations of the universal fractional power law relaxation processes, which are contrasted with the classical or Debye law, and a novel very general approach based on the so-called energy criterion is introduced.
Abstract: A brief description is given of the various manifestations of the universal fractional power law relaxation processes, which are contrasted with the classical or Debye law. It is shown that the universal law is indeed found in a remarkable variety of physical and chemical situations, and this is deemed to merit a special attempt at finding a suitably general theoretical model. Several such models are briefly described, and a novel very general approach based on the so-called energy criterion is introduced. It is concluded that it is not yet possible to establish with certainty the validity of any of the models. >
4,012 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report results of electronic-structure calculations on two classic examples of ferroelectric perovskites, BaTiO3 and PbTiO2, and demonstrate that hybridization between the titanium 3d states and the oxygen 2p states is essential for ferroelectivity.
Abstract: FERROELECTRIC materials are characterized by a switchable macroscopic polarization. Most technologically important ferroelectrics are oxides with a perovskite structure. The origin of their ferroelectric behaviour is unclear, however, and there is incomplete understanding of why similar, but chemically different, perovskites should display very different ferroelectric behaviour. The great sensitivity of ferroelectrics to chemistry, defects, electrical boundary conditions and pressure arises from a delicate balance between long-range Coulomb forces (which favour the ferroelectric state) and short-range repulsions (which favour the nonpolar cubic structure). To model the transition accurately, total-energy techniques are required which incorporate the effects of charge distortion and covalency. Here I report results of electronic-structure calculations on two classic examples of ferroelectric perovskites, BaTiO3 and PbTiO3, and demonstrate that hybridization between the titanium 3d states and the oxygen 2p states is essential for ferroelectricity. The different ferroelectric phase behaviour of the two materials is also clear: in PbTiO3, the lead and oxygen states hybridize, leading to a large strain that stabilizes the tetragonal phase, whereas in BaTiO3 the interaction between barium and oxygen is completely ionic, favouring a rhombohedral structure.
2,417 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that when the order parameter has a continuous symmetry, the ordered state is unstable against an arbitrarily weak random field in less than four dimensions and the borderline dimensionality above which mean-field-theory results hold is six.
Abstract: Phase transitions are considered in systems where the field conjugate to the order parameter is static and random. It is demonstrated that when the order parameter has a continuous symmetry, the ordered state is unstable against an arbitrarily weak random field in less than four dimensions. The borderline dimensionality above which mean-field-theory results hold is six. (auth)
1,911 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the dielectric relaxation of a solid solution of lead titanate in lead magnesium niobate is found to be similar to the magnetic relaxation in spin-glass systems.
Abstract: The dielectric relaxation of a solid solution of 10‐mol % lead titanate in lead magnesium niobate is found to be similar to the magnetic relaxation in spin‐glass systems.1–3 Based on this analogy, it is proposed that the relaxor ferroelectric is a polar‐glassy system which has thermally activated polarization fluctuations above a static freezing temperature. An activation energy and freezing temperature of 0.0407 eV and 291.5 K, respectively, were found by analyzing the frequency dependence of the temperature of the dielectric maximum using the Vogel–Fulcher relationship.4,5 It has also been shown that a macroscopic polarization is sustained on heating up to this freezing temperature. A coupling between nanometer scale clusters is believed to control the kinetics of the fluctuations and the development of a frustration as the system freezes into states of local equilibrium. The possibility of an orientational freezing associated with the ferroelastic nature of the nanosized polar regions in the rhombohedr...
1,148 citations