Related papers: Decoding the complexities of lead-based relaxor fe…
Introducing structural and/or chemical heterogeneity into otherwise ordered crystals can dramatically alter material properties. Lead-based relaxor ferroelectrics are a prototypical example, with decades of investigation having connected…
Relaxor ferroelectrics have been a focus of intense attention due to their anomalous dielectric characteristics, diffuse phase transitions, and strong piezoelectricity. Understanding the structure and dynamics of relaxors has been one of…
Relaxor ferroelectrics exhibit exceptional dielectric and electromechanical properties, yet their microscopic origins remain elusive due to the interplay of hierarchical polar structures and chemical complexity. While models based on polar…
Relaxor ferroelectrics are a class of materials that are widely perceived as deriving their exotic properties from structural heterogeneities. Understanding the microscopic origin of the superior electromechanical response requires…
A complete understanding of the mechanisms for dielectric relaxation in relaxor ferroelectrics remains elusive. We used a structural refinement framework that integrates several types of experimental data to identify the nanoscale…
Combining our comprehensive investigations of polarization evolution, soft-mode by Raman scattering and microstructure by TEM, and the results reported in the literatures, we show that prototypical relaxor Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) is…
\indent It is a generally accepted fact that the unique dielectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics are related to the formation of polar nanoregion (PNRs). Less well recognized is the corollary that, because they are polar and…
Local inhomogeneities known as polar nanoregions (PNR) play a key role in governing the dielectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics - a special class of material that exhibits an enormous electromechanical response and is easily…
Spatial variability of polarization relaxation kinetics in relaxor ferroelectric 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.1PbTiO3 is studied using time-resolved Piezoresponse Force Microscopy. Local relaxation attributed to the reorientation of polar…
Polarization switching mechanisms in ferroelectric materials are fundamentally linked to local domain structure and presence of the structural defects, which both can act as nucleation and pinning centers and create local electrostatic and…
Relaxor ferroelectrics are applied in electronic devices such as actuators and sonars. Morphotrophic phase boundaries (MPBs) with monoclinic structures are known for their high piezoelectricity and electromechanical coupling factors in…
Using a combination of resistance fluctuation (noise) and dielectric spectroscopy we investigate the nature of relaxor-type electronic ferroelectricity in the organic conductor $\kappa$-(BETS)$_2$Mn[N(CN)$_2$]$_3$, a system representative…
Direct electron detectors in scanning transmission electron microscopy give unprecedented possibilities for structure analysis at the nanoscale. In electronic and quantum materials, this new capability gives access to, for example, emergent…
The wealth of complex polar topologies recently found in nanoscale ferroelectrics result from a delicate balance between the materials intrinsic tendency to develop a homogeneous polarization and the electric and mechanic boundary…
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…
Epitaxial thin films of relaxor PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3 and PbSc0.5Nb0.5O3, and ferroelectric PbZr0.65Ti0.35O3, Pb0.955La0.045Zr0.65Ti0.35O3, and Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3 were prepared, and their dielectric properties were studied in a broad range of the…
Relaxor ferroelectrics are complex oxide materials which are rather unique to study the effects of compositional disorder on phase transitions. Here, we study the effects of quenched cubic random electric fields on the lattice instabilities…
The behavior of ferroelectricity at the nanoscale is the focus of increasing research activity because of intense interest in the fundamental nature of spontaneous order in condensed-matter systems and because of the many practical…
Pb-based perovskites with multiple cations are fascinating materials showing various phenomena such as high piezoelectric, electromechanical, and relaxor properties. While chemical disordering accompanied by polar nanoregions and nanosized…
Weakly coupled ferroelectric/dielectric superlattice thin film heterostructures exhibit complex nanoscale polarization configurations that arise from a balance of competing electrostatic, elastic, and domain-wall contributions to the free…