Browsing by Author "Viehland, Dwight D."

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    An acoustic position sensor
    Dong, Shuxiang; Bai, Feiming; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (AIP Publishing, 2003-11-01)
    This article presents an acoustic method-the resonance acoustic field sensor or piezoelectric-sound-resonance cavity (PSRC)-for object position detection. This method utilizes the change of acoustic radiation impedance as a sensing mechanism. The PSRC both generates and detects a resonance acoustic field, along both the axial and transverse directions. We have discovered that an inserted object or an object motion in the sound radiation field results in changes in both the voltage and phase of the PSRC. Results have shown that a minimum object displacement of <10 mum can be detected in the axial direction (and <100 mum in the transverse) by this method. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.
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    Adaptive ferroelectric states in systems with low domain wall energy: Tetragonal microdomains
    Jin, Y. M.; Wang, Yu. U.; Khachaturyan, Armen G.; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Institute of Physics, 2003-09-01)
    Ferroelectric and ferroelastic phases with very low domain wall energies have been shown to form miniaturized microdomain structures. A theory of an adaptive ferroelectric phase has been developed to predict the microdomain-averaged crystal lattice parameters of this structurally inhomogeneous state. The theory is an extension of conventional martensite theory, applied to ferroelectric systems with very low domain wall energies. The case of ferroelectric microdomains of tetragonal symmetry is considered. It is shown for such a case that a nanoscale coherent mixture of microdomains can be interpreted as an adaptive ferroelectric phase, whose microdomain-averaged crystal lattice is monoclinic. The crystal lattice parameters of this monoclinic phase are self-adjusting parameters, which minimize the transformation stress. Self-adjustment is achieved by application of the invariant plane strain to the parent cubic lattice, and the value of the self-adjusted parameters is a linear superposition of the lattice constants of the parent and product phases. Experimental investigations of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 and Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 single crystals confirm many of the predictions of this theory. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.
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    Advanced Synthesis of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics (UHTCs) and High Temperature Electron Emitting Materials
    Mondal, Santanu (Virginia Tech, 2024-02-06)
    From space exploration and advanced aircraft to next generation weapons, achieving hypersonic speed is becoming increasingly important across a range of research domains. The immense challenge associated with this goal involves the development of suitable materials and systems for the different components of a hypersonic vehicle, each of which must have the inherent capability to resist extreme temperatures, high thermal shock due to high heat flux, and high oxidation and ablation. First, the ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) zirconium diboride or ZrB2 was sintered by ultra-fast high temperature sintering (UHS). The UHS process was optimized and the sintering parameters for ZrB2 and other UHTCs were studied. ZrB2 is an ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) with a very high melting point; thus, its densification is difficult, energy intensive, and time-consuming. Commercial ZrB2 powders were rapidly densified via UHS to >90% relative density within 60 second in vacuum without pressure. The effect of sintering time on densification and final grain size were studied. An innovative process for manufacturing bulk UHTC materials was studied and is detailed herein. Second, the work function (W_f) of electron emitting materials was reduced to improved performance. A reduction of W_f in multicomponent hexaborides was achieved by doping with highly electropositive Ba, which enhances electron emission. Single-phase bulk multicomponent polycrystalline hexaborides of La0.5Ba0.5B6, Ce0.5Ba0.5B6, and BaB6 powders were first synthesized and then densified by UHS sintering. W_f measurements were obtained by Kelvin probe force microscopy. Ba-substitution was found to lower W_f (~25%) in synthesized multicomponent hexaborides. The specific techniques required to engineer the W_f of these materials are also provided herein. Finally, combining low W_f materials with UHTCs was explored for thin film systems for the exterior surface of hypersonic vehicles. The thin films of CeB6, a low W_f material, was deposited on sintered ZrB2 by RF-sputtering and single crystalline SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. Epitaxial thin films of SrHfO3 (SHO) were also deposited on (100), (110) and (111) STO substrates at 600°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed the formation of epitaxial layer, and reciprocal space mapping (RSM) was used to characterize film's mosaicity / texture on different substrates. XRD and RSM data demonstrated that the most favorable film growth direction was (110). As detailed herein, an inexpensive thin film production process, RF-sputtering, was exploited to manufacture various epitaxial and non-epitaxial layers of low W_f materials on UHTC and single-crystal substrates for hypersonic vehicles. To summarize, a range of bulk UHTCs and low W_f materials were prepared by UHS, and various thin films of low W_f material were produced on UHTC. Thereafter, the properties of synthesized materials were studied to develop new material systems for hypersonic applications. The findings from this research shed light on the development of suitable materials for implementation of electron transpiration cooling for hypersonic vehicle development.
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    Aging and slow dynamics in SrxBa1-xNb2O6
    Chao, L. K.; Colla, Eugene V.; Weissman, Michael B.; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Physical Society, 2005-10-10)
    The uniaxial "relaxor" ferroelectric SrxBa1-xNb2O6 (SBN) is found to crossover from holelike to cumulative aging as it is cooled into the frozen relaxor regime. The cumulative aging contrasts sharply with the behavior of cubic relaxors, supporting ideas that the spin-glasslike aging in cubic relaxors is connected with polarization components orthogonal to the net ferropolarization. In the relaxor regime, small dc fields are found to suppress much of the dissipative response, similar to long-time aging. Pyroelectric currents are measured, along with limits on pyroelectric noise, allowing limits to be set on dynamically coherent domain sizes. Large nonlinear susceptibilities are found near the freezing transition.
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    Aging associated domain evolution in the orthorhombic phase of < 001 > textured (K0.5Na0.5)Nb0.97Sb0.03O3 ceramics
    Yao, Jianjun; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D.; Chang, Y. F.; Messing, G. L. (AIP Publishing, 2012-03-01)
    Aging effect due to domain evolution in (K-0.5,Na-0.5)Nb0.97Sb0.03O3 < 001 > textured ceramics was investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy. We find that aging effect is pronounced in the orthorhombic single phase field. A more uniform and finer domain structure on the order of several hundred nanometers was observed after aging and is believed to originate from defect-migration. After poling, large domains (similar to 10 mu m) with smooth boundaries were found in the aged condition due to the more readily redistribution of uniform and finer domain structures after aging. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3698154]
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    Alternating and direct current field effects on the structure-property relationships in Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-x% BaTiO3 textured ceramics
    Ge, Wenwei; Maurya, Deepam; Li, Jiefang; Priya, Shashank; Viehland, Dwight D. (AIP Publishing, 2013-06-01)
    The influence of alternating (ac) and direct current (dc) fields on the structural and dielectric properties of [001](PC) textured Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-7%BaTiO3 (NBT-7%BT) ceramics has been investigated. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the depolarization at temperature T-d in poled samples resulted from a tetragonal -> pseudo-cubic transition on heating. Moderate ac drive and dc bias had opposite influences on T-d: ac drive decreased the T-d, whereas dc bias increased it. These investigations suggested an effective method to expand the working temperature range of NBT-x%BT textured ceramics to a high temperature. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
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    Anatomy of vertical heteroepitaxial interfaces reveals the memristive mechanism in Nb2O5-NaNbO3 thin films
    Li, Linglong; Lu, Lu; Wang, Zhiguang; Li, Yanxi; Yao, Yonggang; Zhang, Dawei; Yang, Guang; Yao, Jianjun; Viehland, Dwight D.; Yang, Yaodong (Springer Nature, 2015-03-18)
    Dynamic oxygen vacancies play a significant role in memristive switching materials and memristors can be realized via well controlled doping. Based on this idea we deposite Nb2O5-NaNbO3 nanocomposite thin films on SrRuO3-buffered LaAlO3 substrates. Through the spontaneous phase separation and self-assembly growth, two phases form clear vertical heteroepitaxial nanostructures. The interfaces between niobium oxide and sodium niobate full of ion vacancies form the conductive channels. Alternative I-V behavior attributed to dynamic ion migration reveals the memristive switching mechanism under the external bias. We believe that this phenomenon has a great potential in future device applications.
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    Anhysteretic field-induced rhombhohedral to orthorhombic transformation in <110>-oriented 0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.3PbTiO(3) crystals
    Viehland, Dwight D.; Li, Jiefang (American Institute of Physics, 2002-12-15)
    The electric-field induced polarization (P-E) and strain (epsilon-E) characteristics of <110>(c)-oriented 0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.3PbTiO(3) crystals have been investigated, under both unipolar and bipolar drive. A field-induced transformation was observed below saturation. Under unipolar drive, the P-E and epsilon-E loops were anhysteretic even at the transformation point, demonstrating complete reversibility between ferroelectric rhombohedral and orthorhombic phases. The results show that "polarization rotation" can occur between <111>(c) and <110>(c), where the polarization is confined to the (100)(c) in a monoclinic M-b type symmetry. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.
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    Applications of Magnetoelectric Sensors
    Shen, Ying (Virginia Tech, 2014-02-11)
    The magnetoelectric (ME) effect is an electric output in response to an applied magnetic field. In a heterostructure configuration where the two-phases are engineered with close interface contact, a giant electric response to a magnetic field has been found, which is designated as the ME voltage (or charge) coefficient α^ME. This effect is mediated by a mechanical-coupling between magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases. In this thesis, I concentrate on application study for ME sensors with respect to noise control and rejection, thermal stability, triple-axis sensor design, array imaging, DC and AC magnetic sources detection and active mode ME sensor development, which is important for future ME sensor device applications.
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    Barium Titanate-Based Magnetoelectric Nanocomposites
    Yang, Yaodong (Virginia Tech, 2011-06-21)
    Barium Titanate (BaTiO3 or BTO) has attracted an ever increasing research interest because of its wide range of potential applications. Nano-sized or nanostructured BTO has found applications in new, useful smart devices, such as sensors and piezoelectric devices. Not only limited to one material, multi-layers or multi-phases can lead to multifunctional applications; for example, nanocomposites can be fabricated with ferrite or metal phase with BTO. In this study, I synthesized various BTO-ferrites, ranging from nanoparticles, nanowires to thin films. BTO-ferrite coaxial nanotubes, BTO-ferrite self-assemble thin films, and BTO single phase films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and sol-gel process. BTO-ferrite nanocomposites were grown by solid state reaction. Furthermore, BTO-metal nanostructures were also synthesized by solid state reaction under hydrogen gas which gave us a great inspiration to fabricate metal-ceramic composites. To understand the relationship between metal and BTO ceramic phase, I also deposited BTO film on Au buffered substrates. A metal layer can affect the grain size and orientation in BTO film which can further help us to control the distribution of dielectric properties of BTO films. After obtaining different nanomaterials, I am interested in the applications of these materials. Recently, many interesting electric devices are developed based on nanotechnology, e.g.: memristor. Memristor is a resistor with memory, which is very important in the computer memory. I believe these newly-synthesized BTO based nanostructures are useful for development of memristor, sensors and other devices to fit increasing needs.
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    Bias-field effect on the temperature anomalies of dielectric permittivity in PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-PbTiO3 single crystals
    Raevski, I. P.; Prosandeev, S. A.; Emelyanov, A. S.; Raevskaya, S. I.; Colla, Eugene V.; Viehland, Dwight D.; Kleemann, W.; Vakhrushev, S. B.; Dellis, J. L.; El Marssi, M.; Jastrabik, L. (American Physical Society, 2005-11-16)
    In contrast to ordinary ferroelectrics where the temperature T-m of the permittivity maximum monotonically increases with bias field E in (1-x)PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-(x)PbTiO3 (0 <= x <= 0.35) single crystals, T-m was found to remain constant or to decrease with E up to a certain threshold field E-t, above which T-m starts increasing. The threshold field E-t decreases with increasing x, tending toward zero at approximately x=0.4. We explain this dependence in the framework of models which take into account quenched random fields and random bonds. For crystals with 0.06 <= x <= 0.13, the E-T phase diagrams are constructed. In contrast to PMN, they exhibit an additional, nearly field-independent boundary, in the vicinity of the Vogel-Fulcher temperature. We believe this boundary to correspond to an additional phase transition and the appearing order parameter is likely to be nonpolar.
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    Characterization of Laminated Magnetoelectric Vector Magnetometers to Assess Feasibility for Multi-Axis Gradiometer Configurations
    Berry, David (Virginia Tech, 2010-11-19)
    Wide arrays of applications exist for sensing systems capable of magnetic field detection. A broad range of sensors are already used in this capacity, but future sensors need to increase sensitivity while remaining economical. A promising sensor system to meet these requirements is that of magnetoelectric (ME) laminates. ME sensors produce an electric field when a magnetic field is applied. While this ME effect exists to a limited degree in single phase materials, it is more easily achieved by laminating a magnetostrictive material, which deforms when exposed to a magnetic field, to a piezoelectric material. The transfer of strain from the magnetostrictive material to the piezoelectric material results in an electric field proportional to the induced magnetic field. Other fabrication techniques may impart the directionality needed to classify the ME sensor as a vector magnetometer. ME laminate sensors are more affordable to fabricate than competing vector magnetometers and with recent increases in sensitivity, have potential for use in arrays and gradiometer configurations. However, little is known about their total field detection, the effects of multiple sensors in close proximity and the signal processing needed for target localization. The goal for this project is to closely examine the single axis ME sensor response in different orientations with a moving magnetic dipole to assess the field detection capabilities. Multiple sensors were tested together to determine if the response characteristics are altered by the DC magnetic bias of ME sensors in close proximity. And finally, the ME sensor characteristics were compared to alternate vector magnetometers.
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    Characterization of magnetoelectric laminate composites operated in longitudinal-transverse and transverse-transverse modes
    Dong, Shuxiang; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Institute of Physics, 2004-03-01)
    Magnetostrictive and piezoelectric laminate composites of terfenol-D and Pb(Zr1-xTix)O-3 have been studied. The magnetoelectric (ME) coefficients have been characterized for the different operational modes: (i) a longitudinally magnetized and transversely polarized longitudinal transverse (LT) mode, and (ii) a transversely magnetized and transversely polarized transverse-transverse (TT) mode. The results demonstrate that the (LT) magnetoelectric mode has dramatically higher ME coefficients than the TT one. The LT magnetoelectric coefficient is up to 5-7 times larger than the TT one, when operated in low magnetic bias ranges. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.
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    Circumferential-mode, quasi-ring-type, manetoelectric laminate composite - a highly sensitive electric current and/or vortex magnetic field sensor
    Dong, Shuxiang; Bai, J. G.; Zhai, Junyi; Li, Jiefang; Lu, G. Q.; Viehland, Dwight D.; Zhang, S. J.; Shrout, T. R. (AIP Publishing, 2005-05-01)
    A quasi-ring-type magnetoelectric (ME) laminate composite consisting of a circumferentially poled piezoelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3O)(3-)4.5 at.% PbTiO(3)single-crystal ring and two circumferentially magnetized magnetostrictive TERFENOL-D rings was fabricated and found to have a giant ME voltage coefficient of 2.2 V/Oe, or equivalently a ME field coefficient of 5.5 V/cm Oe, over the frequency range of 0.5 < f < 10(5) Hz. This circumferential-mode quasiring ME laminate can detect ac currents (noncontact) as small as 10(-7) A, and/or a vortex magnetic field as small as 6 x 10(-12) Tesla. In addition, we demonstrated current sensing capability of the quasiring laminate in a power electronics module. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.
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    Colloidal Processing, Microstructural Evolution, and Anisotropic Properties of Textured Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics Prepared Using Weak Magnetic Fields
    Shiraishi, Juan Diego (Virginia Tech, 2024-02-09)
    The texturing of ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) using weak magnetic fields is studied and developed for the first time. Textured UHTCs were prepared by magnetically assisted slip casting (MASC) in weak magnetic field (B ~ 0.5 T). Analytical calculations describing the balance of torques acting on the suspended particles suggested that texture would form at such low magnetic fields. The calculations include a novel contribution of Stokes drag arising from the inhomogeneous velocity profile of the fluid during slip casting. Experimental proof-of-concept of the theoretical calculations was successfully demonstrated. Calculations of Lotgering orientation factor (LOF) based on the intensities of the (00l) family of peaks measures by XRD revealed strong c-axis crystalline texture in TiB2 (LOF = 0.88) and ZrB2 (LOF = 0.79) along the direction of the magnetic field. Less texture was achieved in HfB2 (LOF = 0.39). In all cases, the density of the textured materials was less than that of control untextured materials, indicating that texturing hindered the densification. The findings from this work confirm the potential for more cost-effective, simple, and flexible processes to develop crystalline texture in UHTCs and other advanced ceramics and give new insight into the mechanisms of magnetic alignment of UHTCs under low magnetic fields. The microstructural evolution during slip casting and pressureless sintering is investigated. The interplay between magnetic alignment and particle packing was investigated using XRD and SEM. During MASC, the suspended particles rotate into their aligned configuration. Particles that deposit at the bottom of the mold near the plaster of Paris substrate have their alignment slightly disrupted over a ~220 μm-thick region. The aligned suspended particles lock into an aligned configuration as they consolidate, leading to a uniform degree of texturing across the entire sample height of several millimeters upon full consolidation of the particle network. If the magnetic field is removed before the particles fully consolidate, the suspended particles re-randomize their orientation. Grain size measurements done using the ASTM E112 line counting method on SEM images revealed anisotropic microstructures in green and sintered textured ZrB2 materials. Smaller effective grain sizes were observed in the direction of c-axis texture than the directions perpendicular to the texture. Grain aspect ratios of 1.20 and 1.13 were observed in materials where the c-axis texture directions were parallel (PAR) and perpendicular (PERP) to the slip casting direction, respectively. Constraint of the preferred a-axis grain growth direction in the textured materials inhibited their densification compared to the untextured material. The PERP material with the preferred grain growth direction constrained along the casting direction had smaller average grain sizes than the PAR material which contained the preferred grain growth directions in the circular plane normal to the casting direction. Compression testing suggests a trend towards higher strength and stiffness in materials with higher density. Classical catastrophic brittle failure was observed in the untextured materials, but in the textured materials some samples exhibited a multiple failure mode. The PERP material tended to exhibit superior strength and stiffness to the PAR material in the classical brittle failure mode due to the orientation of the stiffer a-axis along the loading direction and smaller average grain size in the plane normal to the loading direction in the PERP condition. In the multiple failure mode, the PAR material tended to reach higher strength values after the initial failure and reach slightly higher strains before ultimate failure due to the orientation of the compliant c-axis along the loading direction and ability of the grains elongated in the plane normal to the loading direction to rearrange themselves after initial failure(s). Regardless of density or texture condition, all ZrB2 samples survived thermal shock resistance (TSR) testing. Samples were heated to 1500°C in air, held for 30 minutes, then quenched in room temperature air. After TSR testing, oxide layers formed on the surface of the materials. The specific mass gain and oxide layer thickness tended to increase with increasing porosity and were dramatically increased when open porosity was dominant as in the CTRL 1900 condition. After TSR testing, the compressive strength and strain at failure were both higher compared to the as-sintered materials. The increases in the average compressive strength were 20%, 76%, and 57% in the CTRL, PAR, and PERP conditions, respectively. The combination of the presence of the oxide layer shifting the onset of macroscale damage to higher strain values, the dissipation of load in the more porous region near the oxide layer, and the constraining effect of the oxide layer acting against the expansion of the material contributed to reinforcement of the samples after TSR testing. The CTRL material outperformed the textured materials on average in terms of strength and stiffness due to the higher density. The results suggest that reinforcement was more effective in the PAR condition than the PERP, which may be caused by the formation of a homogenous oxide layer on the PAR while the PERP formed an anisotropic layer. The work presented in this dissertation lays the foundation for affordable, energy efficient preparation of UHTCs and other ceramic materials. Equipment costs are reduced by 3 orders of magnitude, and the operating costs and energy consumption are greatly reduced. Facilitation of the preparation of textured materials opens the door to renewed investigations into their processing and performance. This work describes in detail for the first time the relationships between processing, microstructure, and properties of a textured UHTC part, providing a model for future research. Finally, the findings in this work can be used to guide process optimization, exploration of complex shapes and microstructures, and design of manufacturing schemes to create specialty textured parts for demanding structural and functional applications.
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    Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals: A Study of the Syntheses of and Capping Structures for CdSe
    Herz, Erik (Virginia Tech, 2001-08-20)
    Luminescent quantum dots (QDs) or rods are semiconductor nano-particles that may be used for a wide array of applications such as in electro-optical devices, spectral bar coding, tagging and light filtering. In the case under investigation, the nano-particles are cadmium-selenide (CdSe), though they can be made from cadmium-sulfide, cadmium-telluride or a number of other II-VI and III-V material combinations. The CdSe quantum dots emit visible light at a repeatable wavelength when excited by an ultraviolet source. The synthesis of colloidal quantum dot nanoparticles is usually an organo-metallic precursor, high temperature, solvent based, airless chemical procedure that begins with the raw materials CdO, a high boiling point ligand, and a Se-trioctylphosphine conjugate. This investigation explores the means to produce quantum dots by this method and to activate the surface or modify the reaction chemistry with such molecules as trioctylphosphine oxide, stearic acid, dodecylamine, phenyl sulfone, aminophenyl sulfone, 4,4'dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, 4,4'difluorodiphenyl sulfone, sulfanilamide and zinc sulfide during the production to allow for further applications of quantum dots involving new chemistries of the outer surface. Overall, the project has been an interesting and successful one, producing a piece of equipment, a lot of ideas, and many dots with varied capping structures that have been purified, characterized, and stored in such a way that they are ready for immediate use in future projects.
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    Comparison of noise floor and sensitivity for different magnetoelectric laminates
    Gao, Junqi; Das, Jaydip; Xing, Zengping; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Institute of Physics, 2010-10-15)
    We present a comparison of the magnetoelectric (ME) response and magnetic-field sensitivities of engineered laminate sensors comprised of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases. The ME voltage coefficients for Metglas and single crystal fibers of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3) O-3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) or Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3) O-3-PbTiO3 (PZN-PT) are about 2.8 times larger than those with Metglas-Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 (PZT) ceramic ones. This results in a 1.7 times enhancement in the magnetic-field sensitivity for the structures with single crystals. Accordingly, the noise floors are about three to four times lower for composites with PMN-PT or PZN-PT fibers than those with PZT. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3486483]
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    Comparisons of polarization switching in "hard," "soft," and relaxor ferroelectrics
    Jullian, Christelle; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Institute of Physics, 2004-04-15)
    The dynamics of polarization switching have been investigated over extremely broad time (10(-8)
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    Computer Modeling and Simulation of Morphotropic Phase Boundary Ferroelectrics
    Rao, Weifeng (Virginia Tech, 2009-07-31)
    Phase field modeling and simulation is employed to study the underlying mechanism of enhancing electromechanical properties in single crystals and polycrystals of perovskite-type ferroelectrics around the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). The findings include: (I) Coherent phase decomposition near MPB in PZT is investigated. It reveals characteristic multidomain microstructures, where nanoscale lamellar domains of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases coexist with well-defined crystallographic orientation relationships and produce coherent diffraction effects. (II) A bridging domain mechanism for explaining the phase coexistence observed around MPBs is presented. It shows that minor domains of metastable phase spontaneously coexist with and bridge major domains of stable phase to reduce total system free energy, which explains the enhanced piezoelectric response around MPBs. (III) We demonstrate a grain size- and composition-dependent behavior of phase coexistence around the MPBs in polycrystals of ferroelectric solid solutions. It shows that grain boundaries impose internal mechanical and electric boundary conditions, which give rise to the grain size effect of phase coexistence, that is, the width of phase coexistence composition range increases with decreasing grain sizes. (IV) The domain size effect is explained by the domain wall broadening mechanism. It shows that, under electric field applied along the nonpolar axis, without domain wall motion, the domain wall broadens and serves as embryo of field-induced new phase, producing large reversible strain free from hysteresis. (V) The control mechanisms of domain configurations and sizes in crystallographically engineered ferroelectric single crystals are investigated. It reveals that highest domain wall densities are obtained with intermediate magnitude of electric field applied along non-polar axis of ferroelectric crystals. (VI) The domain-dependent internal electric field associated with the short-range ordering of charged point defects is demonstrated to stabilize engineered domain microstructure. The internal electric field strength is estimated, which is in agreement with the magnitude evaluated from available experimental data. (VII) The poling-induced piezoelectric anisotropy in untextured ferroelectric ceramics is investigated. It is found that the maximum piezoelectric response in the poled ceramics is obtained along a macroscopic nonpolar direction; and extrinsic contributions from preferred domain wall motions play a dominant role in piezoelectric anisotropy and enhancement in macroscopic nonpolar direction. (VIII) Stress effects on domain microstructure are investigated for the MPB-based ferroelectric polycrystals. It shows that stress alone cannot pole the sample, but can be utilized to reduce the strength of poling electric field. (IX) The effects of compressions on hysteresis loops and domain microstructures of MPB-based ferroelectric polycrystals are investigated. It shows that longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient can be enhanced by compressions, with the best value found when compression is about to initiate the depolarization process.
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    Conformal miniaturization of domains with low domain-wall energy: Monoclinic ferroelectric states near the morphotropic phase boundaries
    Jin, Y. M.; Wang, Yu. U.; Khachaturyan, Armen G.; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight D. (American Physical Society, 2003-11-07)
    A theory is developed for intermediate monoclinic (FEm) phases near morphotropic phase boundaries in ferroelectrics of complex oxides. It is based on the conformal miniaturization of stress-accommodating tetragonal domains under the condition of low domain-wall energy density. The microdomain-averaged lattice parameters are determined and attributed to the parameters of an adaptive monoclinic phase. The theory is applied to the temperature, electric field, and compositional dependent FEm lattice parameters. The predictions of the theory are rigidly obeyed over the entire FEm stability range.