Critical temperature below the Curie temperature of ferroelectric ceramics PZT

The article presents the results of research the pre-transitional features of the behavior of solid solutions based on lead zirconate-titanate. The presence of a “special” critical temperature [Formula: see text] on the temperature dependences of the permittivity [Formula: see text] and the remanent polarization [Formula: see text], preceding the temperature of the paraelectric phase transition at the Curie temperature [Formula: see text], is noted. In the temperature range [Formula: see text], the [Formula: see text] dependence obeys a power law. In the temperature range [Formula: see text], this law is not fulfilled. The results of X-ray experiments make it possible to associate this behavior with reversible disordering at [Formula: see text] of an ordered domain structure formed during the polarization of piezoelectric ceramics and with its irreversible disordering in the temperature range [Formula: see text]. This is due to the appearance of internal mechanical stresses in a polycrystalline ferroelectric due to irreversible depolarization of the samples at temperatures [Formula: see text].

Temperature-tunable optical properties and carrier relaxation of CuInP2S6 crystal under ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition

Tunable optical properties could expand the functionalities of optoelectronic devices, exploring materials with tunable optical properties is important for the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices. CuInP2S6 (CIPS) is a ferroelectric...

A chiral switchable photovoltaic ferroelectric 1D perovskite

Spin and valley degrees of freedom in materials without inversion symmetry promise previously unknown device functionalities, such as spin-valleytronics. Control of material symmetry with electric fields (ferroelectricity), while breaking additional symmetries, including mirror symmetry, could yield phenomena where chirality, spin, valley, and crystal potential are strongly coupled. Here we report the synthesis of a halide perovskite semiconductor that is simultaneously photoferroelectricity switchable and chiral. Spectroscopic and structural analysis, and first-principles calculations, determine the material to be a previously unknown low-dimensional hybrid perovskite (R)-(−)-1-cyclohexylethylammonium/(S)-(+)-1 cyclohexylethylammonium) PbI3. Optical and electrical measurements characterize its semiconducting, ferroelectric, switchable pyroelectricity and switchable photoferroelectric properties. Temperature dependent structural, dielectric and transport measurements reveal a ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition. Circular dichroism spectroscopy confirms its chirality. The development of a material with such a combination of these properties will facilitate the exploration of phenomena such as electric field and chiral enantiomer–dependent Rashba-Dresselhaus splitting and circular photogalvanic effects.

Structure and Dynamics of Ferroelectric Domains in Polycrystalline Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3

A complex domain structure with variations in the morphology is observed at ambient temperature in monoclinic Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3. Using electron microscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy, it is possible to reveal micrometre-sized wedge, lamellar-like, and irregularly shaped domains. By increasing the temperature, the domain structure persists up to 80 °C, and then starts to disappear at around 100 °C due to the proximity of the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition, in agreement with macroscopic dielectric measurements. In order to understand to what degree domain switching can occur in the ceramic, the mobility of the domain walls was studied at ambient temperature. The in situ poling experiment performed using piezoresponse force microscopy resulted in an almost perfectly poled area, providing evidence that all types of domains can be easily switched. By poling half an area with 20 V and the other half with −20 V, two domains separated by a straight domain wall were created, indicating that Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 is a promising material for domain-wall engineering.