Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “DOMAIN STRUCTURE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Electric field induced lattice strain in pseudocubic Bi(Mg{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-modified BaTiO{sub 3}-BiFeO{sub 3} piezoelectric ceramics

Contributions to the piezoelectric response in pseudocubic 0.3BaTiO{sub 3}-0.1Bi(Mg{sub 1/2}Ti{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-0.6BiFeO{sub 3} ceramics were investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction under electric fields. All of the lattice strain determined from the 110, 111, and 200 pseudocubic diffraction peaks showed similar lattice strain hysteresis that was comparable to the bulk butterfly-like strain curve. It was suggested that the hysteresis of the lattice strain and the lack of anisotropy were related to the complex domain structure and the phase boundary composition.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Direct writing of ferroelectric domains on strontium barium niobate crystals using focused ultraviolet laser light

We report ferroelectric domain inversion in strontium barium niobate (SBN) single crystals by irradiating the surface locally with a strongly focused ultraviolet (UV) laser beam. The generated domains are investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. We propose a simple model that allows predicting the domain width as a function of the irradiation intensity, which indeed applies for both SBN and LiNbO{sub 3}. Evidently, though fundamentally different, the domain structure of both SBN and LiNbO{sub 3} can be engineered through similar UV irradiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study of perpendicular anisotropy L1{sub 0}-FePt pseudo spin valves using a micromagnetic trilayer model

A trilayer micromagnetic model based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation of motion is utilized to study the properties of L1{sub 0}-FePt/TiN/L1{sub 0}-FePt pseudo spin valves (PSVs) in direct comparison with experiment. Theoretical studies give an insight on the crystallographic texture, magnetic properties, reversal behavior, interlayer coupling effects, and magneto-transport properties of the PSVs, in particular, with varying thickness of the top L1{sub 0}-FePt and TiN spacer. We show that morphological changes in the FePt layers, induced by varying the FePt layer thickness, lead to different hysteresis behaviors of the samples, caused by changes in the interlayer and intralayer exchange couplings. Such effects are important for the optimization of the PSVs due to the relationship between the magnetic properties, domain structures, and the magnetoresistance of the device.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

A statistical approach to analyzing domain dynamics in ferroelectric crystals using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy

Ferroelectric materials exhibit strong electromechanical coupling, largely influenced by their domain structures. Numerous microstructural studies indicate that smaller domains with higher domain wall density generally enhance domain wall motion, although some inconsistencies have been reported. In this work, we use X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) to probe dynamic response in Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -29PbTiO 3 (PMN-29PT) single crystals under applied electric fields. We introduce a two-field correlation approach, adapted from conventional two-time correlation to quantify dynamics. Statistical analysis reveals that both [001]-oriented direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) poled samples show Poisson-like behavior within specific electric field regions. The DC-poled samples exhibit more frequent domain wall jump events but with smaller amount of decorrelation per jump event, whereas the AC-poled samples show fewer jump events with larger decorrelation per jump event. This observation aligns with the prevalence of 109° domain walls in the AC-poled samples, which contribute to more domain wall motion. These findings provide experimental evidence of collective domain wall motion and establish a direct connection between mesoscale dynamics and electromechanical response.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Manipulating topological transformations of polar structures through real-time observation of the dynamic polarization evolution

Topological structures based on controllable ferroelectric or ferromagnetic domain configurations offer the opportunity to develop microelectronic devices such as high-density memories. Despite the increasing experimental and theoretical insights into various domain structures (such as polar spirals, polar wave, polar vortex) over the past decade, manipulating the topological transformations of polar structures and comprehensively understanding its underlying mechanism remains lacking. By conducting an in-situ non-contact bias technique, here we systematically investigate the real-time topological transformations of polar structures in PbTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 multilayers at an atomic level. The procedure of vortex pair splitting and the transformation from polar vortex to polar wave and out-of-plane polarization are observed step by step. Furthermore, the redistribution of charge in various topological structures has been demonstrated under an external bias. This provides new insights for the symbiosis of polar and charge and offers an opportunity for a new generation of microelectronic devices.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2019

Spin-orbit excitons in CoO

CoO has an odd number of electrons in its unit cell, and therefore is expected to be metallic. Yet, CoO is strongly insulating owing to significant electronic correlations, thus classifying it as a Mott insulator. We investigate the magnetic fluctuations in CoO using neutron spectroscopy. Here, the strong and spatially far-reaching exchange constants reported recently [P. M. Sarte et al., Phys. Rev. B 98, 024415 (2018)], combined with the single-ion spin-orbit coupling of similar magnitude [R. A. Cowley et al., Phys. Rev. B 88, 205117 (2013)] results in significant mixing between jeff spin-orbit levels in the low-temperature magnetically ordered phase. The high degree of entanglement, combined with the structural domains originating from the Jahn-Teller structural distortion at ~300K, make the magnetic excitation spectrum highly structured in both energy and momentum. We extend previous theoretical work on PrTl 3 [W. J. L. Buyers et al., Phys. Rev. B 11, 266 (1975)] to construct a mean-field and multilevel spin-orbit exciton model employing the aforementioned spin exchange and spin-orbit coupling parameters for coupled Co 2+ ions lying on a rocksalt lattice. This parametrization, based on a tetragonally distorted type-II antiferromagnetic unit cell, captures both the sharp low-energy excitations at the magnetic zone center, and the energy broadened peaks at the zone boundary. However, the model fails to describe the momentum dependence of the excitations at high-energy transfers, where the neutron response decays faster with momentum than the Co 2+ form factor. We discuss such a failure in terms of a possible breakdown of localized spin-orbit excitons at high-energy transfers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Thermal fluctuations of ferroelectric nanodomains in a ferroelectric-dielectric PbTiO 3 / SrTiO 3 superlattice

Ferroelectric-dielectric superlattices consisting of alternating layers of ferroelectric PbTiO 3 and dielectric SrTiO 3 exhibit a disordered striped nanodomain pattern, with characteristic length scales of 6 nm for the domain periodicity and 30 nm for the in-plane coherence of the domain pattern. Spatial disorder in the domain pattern gives rise to coherent hard x-ray scattering patterns exhibiting intensity speckles. We show here using variable-temperature Bragg-geometry x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy that x-ray scattering patterns from the disordered domains exhibit a continuous temporal decorrelation due to spontaneous domain fluctuations. The temporal decorrelation can be described using a compressed exponential function, consistent with what has been observed in other systems with arrested dynamics. The fluctuation speeds up at higher temperatures and the thermal activation energy estimated from the Arrhenius model is 0.35±0.21 eV. As a result, the magnitude of the energy barrier implies that the complicated energy landscape of the domain structures is induced by pinning mechanisms and domain patterns fluctuate via the generation and annihilation of topological defects similar to soft materials such as block copolymers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Strain phase equilibria and phase‐field method of ferroelectric polydomain: A case study of monoclinic K x Na 1 − x NbO 3 thin films

Abstract Knowledge of the thermodynamic equilibria and domain structures of ferroelectrics is critical to establishing their structure–property relationships that underpin their applications from piezoelectric devices to nonlinear optics. Here, we establish the strain condition for strain phase separation and polydomain formation and analytically predict the corresponding domain volume fractions and wall orientations of, relatively low symmetry and theoretically more challenging, monoclinic ferroelectric thin films by integrating thermodynamics of ferroelectrics, strain phase equilibria theory, microelasticity, and phase‐field method. Using monoclinic K x Na 1 − x NbO 3 (0.5 < x < 1.0) thin films as a model system, we establish the polydomain strain–strain phase diagrams, from which we identify two types of monoclinic polydomain structures. The analytically predicted strain conditions of formation, domain volume fractions, and domain wall orientations for the two polydomain structures are consistent with phase‐field simulations and in good agreement with experimental results in the literature. The present study demonstrates a general, powerful analytical theoretical framework to predict the strain phase equilibria and domain wall orientations of polydomain structures applicable to both high‐ and low‐symmetry ferroelectrics and provide fundamental insights into the equilibrium domain structures of ferroelectric K x Na 1 − x NbO 3 thin films that are of technology relevance for lead‐free dielectric and piezoelectric applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Post-deposition control of ferroelastic stripe domains and internal electric field by thermal treatment

The dependence of the formation of ferroelastic stripe domain patterns on the thermal history is investigated by detailed piezoresponse force microscopy and X-ray diffraction experiments after and during annealing of tensile strained tetragonal Pb(Ti,Zr)O{sub 3} epitaxial thin films on DyScO{sub 3} substrates. In particular, the ferroelastic pattern is reversibly interchanged between a cross-hatched and a stripe domain pattern if the films are cooled at different rates after annealing above the formation temperature of a-domains. Different types of 180° and non-180° patterns can be created, depending on the thermal treatment. The changes in the 180° domain structure and lattice parameters are attributed to a change of oxygen vacancy concentration, which results in a modification of the internal electric field and unit cell size, causing also a shift of T{sub C}. Thermal treatment is done on rhombohedral La:BiFeO{sub 3} thin films as well. It is observed that also in these films, appropriate heat treatment modifies the domain pattern and films with a stripe domain pattern can be created, confirming the general validity of the developed model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhanced electromechanical coupling in Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-PbTiO{sub 3} <001>{sub C} radially textured cylinders

We demonstrate Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-PbTiO{sub 3} cylinders with ∼98% <100>{sub C} texture along the radial direction. A giant enhancement in the magnitude of electromechanical coupling factor (k{sub 31} = k{sub h} = 0.60, and k{sub l} = 0.7) was obtained for textured cylinder, and d{sub 31} × g{sub 31} was measured to be 6766 × 10{sup −15} m{sup 2}/N which is 3–6 times higher than that of commercial Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} compositions. The crystallographic grain orientation in the textured cylinder was visualized by electron backscatter diffraction, and the domain structure was characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy. Using these results, we explain the mechanism for this enhanced performance of radially textured piezoelectrics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Combined effects of Bi deficiency and Mn substitution on the structural transformation and functionality of BiFeO{sub 3} films

Mn-doped BiFeO{sub 3} films with Mn contents of 5 and 10 mol. % were prepared via a chemical route. A carefully controlled amount of Bi deficiency was introduced to further tune the lattice structure and the functionality of multiferroic BiFeO{sub 3}. The crystal structure of Bi{sub 1−δ}Fe{sub 1−x}Mn{sub x}O{sub 3} films was investigated by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra; a rhombohedral-to-orthorhombic phase transition was revealed. The observed double hysteresis loops and two capacitance maxima from polarization vs electric field and capacitance-voltage measurements indicate an antiferroelectric-like behavior. Additionally, the coexistence of ferroelectric (FE) and antiferroelectric (AFE) phases in Bi{sub 1−δ}Fe{sub 1−x}Mn{sub x}O{sub 3} films was revealed from the domain structures obtained by piezoelectric force microscopy. The effects of Mn substitution in conjunction with Bi deficiency on the FE-AFE phase transition and electrical behavior of BiFeO{sub 3} films are discussed in detail. Meanwhile, magnetic and photoluminescence measurements on the films illustrate that Mn substitution gives rise to the net magnetic moment and the defects induced by both Bi deficiency and Mn substitution influence the electronic structure of BiFeO{sub 3} films. This study thus shows a simple and effective way to control the functionalities of BiFeO{sub 3} films.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Determination of crystallographic orientation of lead-free piezoelectric (K,Na)NbO{sub 3} epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) surfaces

Crystallographic structure of sol-gel-processed lead-free (K,Na)NbO{sub 3} (KNN) epitaxial films on [100]-cut SrTiO{sub 3} single-crystalline substrates was investigated for a deeper understanding of its piezoelectric response. Lattice parameter measurement by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the orthorhombic KNN films on SrTiO{sub 3} (100) surfaces are [010] oriented (b-axis-oriented) rather than commonly identified c-axis orientation. Based on the crystallographic orientation and corresponding ferroelectric domain structure investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy, the superior piezoelectric property along b-axis of epitaxial KNN films than other orientations can be explained.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Ferroelectric properties of lead-free polycrystalline CaBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} thin films on glass substrates

CaBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} (CBNO) thin film, a lead-free ferroelectric material, was prepared on a Pt/Ta/glass substrate via pulsed laser deposition. The Ta film was deposited on the glass substrate for a buffer layer. A (115) preferred orientation of the polycrystalline CBNO thin film was verified via X-ray diffraction measurements. The CBNO thin film on a glass substrate exhibited good ferroelectric properties with a remnant polarization of 4.8 μC/cm{sup 2} (2P{sub r} ∼9.6 μC/cm{sup 2}), although it had lower polarization than the epitaxially c-oriented CBNO thin film reported previously. A mosaic-like ferroelectric domain structure was observed via piezoresponse force microscopy. Significantly, the polycrystalline CBNO thin film showed much faster switching behavior within about 100 ns than that of the epitaxially c-oriented CBNO thin film.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Experimental study of antiferromagnetic resonance in noncollinear antiferromagnetic Mn{sub 3}Al{sub 2}Ge{sub 3}O{sub 12}

We have measured antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) frequency-field dependences for aluminum–manganese garnet Mn{sub 3}Al{sub 2}Ge{sub 3}O{sub 12} at frequencies from 1 to 125 GHz and fields up to 6 T. There are three AFMR modes for all orientations, their zero field gaps are about 40 and 70 GHz. Andreev–Marchenko hydrodynamic theory [7] well describes experimental frequency–field dependences. We have observed hysteresis of resonance absorption as well as history dependence of resonance absorption near gap frequencies below 10 kOe in all three measured field orientations, which are supposedly due to the sample domain structure. Observation of the AFMR signal at the frequencies from 1 to 5 GHz allows to estimate repulsion of nuclear and electron modes of spin precession in the vicinity of spin-reorientation transition at H || [100].

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Properties of epitaxial (210) iron garnet films exhibiting the magnetoelectric effect

The properties of epitaxial magnetic (LuBi){sub 3}(FeGa){sub 5}O{sub 12} iron garnet films grown on (210) substrates, which exhibit the magnetoelectric effect, are experimentally studied. The induced anisotropy and the behavior of the domain structure in the films are investigated in uniform and nonuniform external fields. The existing hypotheses about the nature of the magnetoelectric coupling in such films are critically analyzed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evaluation of magnetic flux distribution from magnetic domains in [Co/Pd] nanowires by magnetic domain scope method using contact-scanning of tunneling magnetoresistive sensor

Current-driven magnetic domain wall motions in magnetic nanowires have attracted great interests for physical studies and engineering applications. The magnetic force microscope (MFM) is widely used for indirect verification of domain locations in nanowires, where relative magnetic force between the local domains and the MFM probe is used for detection. However, there is an occasional problem that the magnetic moments of MFM probe influenced and/or rotated the magnetic states in the low-moment nanowires. To solve this issue, the “magnetic domain scope for wide area with nano-order resolution (nano-MDS)” method has been proposed recently that could detect the magnetic flux distribution from the specimen directly by scanning of tunneling magnetoresistive field sensor. In this study, magnetic domain structure in nanowires was investigated by both MFM and nano-MDS, and the leakage magnetic flux density from the nanowires was measured quantitatively by nano-MDS. Specimen nanowires consisted from [Co (0.3)/Pd (1.2)]{sub 21}/Ru(3) films (units in nm) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy were fabricated onto Si substrates by dual ion beam sputtering and e-beam lithography. The length and the width of the fabricated nanowires are 20 μm and 150 nm. We have succeeded to obtain not only the remanent domain images with the detection of up and down magnetizations as similar as those by MFM but also magnetic flux density distribution from nanowires directly by nano-MDS. The obtained value of maximum leakage magnetic flux by nano-MDS is in good agreement with that of coercivity by magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy. By changing the protective diamond-like-carbon film thickness on tunneling magnetoresistive sensor, the three-dimensional spatial distribution of leakage magnetic flux could be evaluated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Chemical solution deposition derived (001)-oriented epitaxial BiFeO{sub 3} thin films with robust ferroelectric properties using stoichiometric precursors (invited)

Phase pure bismuth ferrite (BiFeO{sub 3}) thin films with (001)-oriented epitaxial structure are realized on lanthanum strontium manganite (La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3}) buffered (001)-SrTiO{sub 3} substrates by chemical solution deposition. The annealing process is optimized such that a stoichiometric precursor can be used to accurately control the Bi:Fe ratio. Ferroelectric, dielectric, and resistive switching behaviours are investigated for 40 nm, 70 nm, and 150 nm BFO thin films. While the thinnest film (40 nm) shows very leaky loops, square and fully saturated polarization hysteresis loops are shown for the thicker films. The highest remanent polarization (2P{sub r} = 100 μC/cm{sup 2}) and relative dielectric constant (ε{sub r} = 613) are obtained in the 150 nm BFO thin film. High cycle fatigue tests show that the thick films are resistant to polarization fatigue. Piezoresponse force microscopy results show that the domain structure varies with thickness. Resistive switching and polarization mediated diode effects are also observed. These robust properties suggest that chemical solution deposition derived BiFeO{sub 3} thin films can offer a viable low cost alternative.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗