Pinched hysteresis loop in defect-free ferroelectric materials

Xu, Bin; Paillard, Charles; Dkhil, Brahim; Bellaïche, L.

doi:10.1103/physrevb.94.140101

Cited by 54 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(62 reference statements)

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“…A double P-E hysteresis loop can also be observed at temperatures slightly above the Curie temperature of the first-order ferroelectric transition, indicating the electric field-induced paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition 15,16 . However, in the development of ferroelectric materials, a type of "pinched" P-E hysteresis loop with a constrained remanent polarization (P r ) value has been observed in various perovskite materials, e.g., Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 solid solutions [17][18][19][20][21] , BiFeO 3 -based ceramics [22][23][24] , and (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 -based ceramics [25][26][27] . The main feature of the pinched P-E hysteresis loop is that the polarization, P r , for a zero electric field is small but finite, unlike ferroelectrics (large P r ) and antiferroelectrics (zero P r ) 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, the existence of pinched P-E hysteresis loops is attributed to strong domain wall pinning due to the diffusion of charged defects [17][18][19][20][21][22]25 . However, pinched P-E hysteresis loops can also be observed in defect-free ferroelectric materials, such as BiFeO 3 -based ceramics 23,24 and (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 -based ceramics 26 . In some cases of BiFeO 3 -based ceramics, the observed pinched P-E hysteresis loops are "simply" interpreted as the double P-E hysteresis loops of antiferroelectrics, and the concomitant enhancement in the piezoelectric response is attributed to an electric-field-induced transformation from a paraelectric orthorhombic phase to a polar rhombohedral phase 23 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases of BiFeO 3 -based ceramics, the observed pinched P-E hysteresis loops are "simply" interpreted as the double P-E hysteresis loops of antiferroelectrics, and the concomitant enhancement in the piezoelectric response is attributed to an electric-field-induced transformation from a paraelectric orthorhombic phase to a polar rhombohedral phase 23 . According to simulations by Xu et al 24 , the pinched P-E hysteresis loops in defect-free ferroelectric materials are a result of intermediate modulated phases with an inhomogeneous dipolar pattern, which leads to the coexistence of both ferroelectric and antiferroelectric orders. Liu et al 27 reported the observation of a fine-scale intergrown microstructural phase (IGMS) within the R3c rhombohedral average structure matrix of (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 ) TiO 3 , and the IGMS regions form local, isolated, polar nanoregions, resulting in the high piezoelectric response and pinched P-E hysteresis loops observed in (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 ) TiO 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Electric-field-induced phase transition and pinched P–E hysteresis loops in Pb-free ferroelectrics with a tungsten bronze structure

Zhu

Liu

et al. 2018

NPG Asia Mater

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Antiferroelectrics are of interest due to their high potential for energy storage. Here, we report the discovery of pinched, polarization-vs.-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops in the lead-free tungsten bronze ferroelectrics Ba 4 Sm 2 Ti 4 Nb 6 O 30 and Ba 4 Eu 2 Ti 4 Nb 6 O 30 , while a broad, single P-E hysteresis loop was observed in the analogue compound Ba 4 Nd 2 Ti 4 Nb 6 O 30 . Pinched P-E loops are similar to antiferroelectric hysteresis loops, but in perovskites, they are mostly caused by an extrinsic, internal bias field due to defects, which block domain wall motion. We show that the pinched P-E loops are caused by an intrinsic effect, i.e., by the electric-field-induced phase transition from a nonpolar incommensurate to a polar commensurately modulated crystal structure. The in situ electron diffraction results show the coexistence of commensurate polar structural modulation and incommensurate non-polar modulation during the ferroelectric transition and within the ferroelectric phase below the transition temperature. This phase coexistence is the reason for the small remanent polarization. An external electric field transforms the incommensurate component into a commensurate one, and the polarization increases. This new mechanism for pinched P-E hysteresis loops in ferroelectrics not only indicates a new direction for the development of Pb-free ferroelectric materials for energy storage but also significantly contributes to the physical understanding of ferroelectricity in materials with a tungsten bronze structure.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Electric-field-induced phase transition and pinched P–E hysteresis loops in Pb-free ferroelectrics with a tungsten bronze structure

Zhu

Liu

et al. 2018

NPG Asia Mater

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“…12 Antipolar systems are important compounds on their own. For instance, the Pnma state in ABO 3 perovskites is known to possess antipolar motions of its A cations and recent studies found that it can also adopt the double polarization-vs.-electric field hysteresis loop in some materials 13,14 that is characteristics of antiferroelectrics 15 -therefore suggesting that Pnma states in some perovskites can hold promise towards the design of energy storage devices with high energy densities and efficiencies. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Interestingly, all the aforementioned works on trilinear energetic couplings have been aimed at revealing and understanding resulting static properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of antipolar distortions

2017

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Materials possessing antipolar cation motions are currently receiving a lot of attention because they are fundamentally intriguing while being technologically promising. Most studies devoted to these complex materials have focused on their static properties or on their zone-center phonons. As a result, some important dynamics of antipolar cation distortions, such as the temperature behavior of their phonon frequencies, have been much less investigated, despite the possibility to exhibit unusual features. Here, we report the results and analysis of atomistic simulations revealing and explaining such dynamics for BiFeO 3 bulks being subject to hydrostatic pressure. It is first predicted that cooling such material yields the following phase transition sequence: the cubic paraelectric Pm3m state at high temperature, followed by an intermediate phase possessing long-range-ordered in-phase oxygen octahedral tiltings, and then the Pnma state that is known to possess antipolar cation motions in addition to in-phase and antiphase oxygen octahedral tiltings. Antipolar cation modes are found to all have high phonon frequencies that are independent of temperature in the paraelectric phase. On the other hand and in addition to antipolar cation modes increasing in number, some phonons possessing antipolar cation character are rather soft in the intermediate and Pnma states. Analysis of our data combined with the development of a simple model reveals that such features originate from a dynamical mixing between pure antipolar cation phonons and fluctuations of oxygen octahedral tiltings, as a result of a specific trilinear energetic coupling. The developed model can also be easily applied to predict dynamics of antipolar cation motions for other possible structural paths bringing Pm3m to Pnma states.

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“…The above analysis means that a precursor/intermediate state (125-170 • C) exhibiting pinched hysteresis loops is displayed above the Curie temperature. These pinched hysteresis loops possessing electric dipoles are intrinsic in nature and can also occur in defect-free systems, such as BiFeO 3 [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Super-Lattice Structure and Phase Evolution of Pb(Lu0.5Nb0.5)O3-PbTiO3 Single Crystal with Low PbTiO3

Liu

Yang

et al. 2018

Crystals

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Abstract:The phase diagram of the Pb(Lu 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PLN-PT) binary system was previously reported based on XRD and dielectric measurements results. Unusually, the Curie temperature of PLN-PT with low PT obtained from the phase diagram is much lower than that of PLN and PT end members, which is different from others, such as PZT. Therefore, the complex structure of PLN-PT with low PT is desired to be studied. In this work, PLN-PT single crystals with low PT were grown for the study of their super-lattice structure and phase evolution. The super-lattice reflections were identified by X-ray diffraction. Domains and their evolution by heating from room temperature to 150 • C were observed under a polarized light microscope. The phase transition from the ferroelectric phase to the paraelectric phase was determined by dielectric spectra and polarized light microscopy. A precursor/intermediate phase exhibiting pinched hysteresis loops was displayed above the Curie temperature, which originates from some polar region embedded in the non-polar matrix. The coexistence of the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric domains leads to peculiarities of the phase transitions, such as a lower Curie temperature compared with PLN and PT. The studies of the phase evolution of PLN-PT with low PT single crystal is a supplementary amendment of the PLN-PT phase diagram as previously reported.

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Pinched hysteresis loop in defect-free ferroelectric materials

Cited by 54 publications

References 41 publications

Electric-field-induced phase transition and pinched P–E hysteresis loops in Pb-free ferroelectrics with a tungsten bronze structure

Electric-field-induced phase transition and pinched P–E hysteresis loops in Pb-free ferroelectrics with a tungsten bronze structure

Dynamics of antipolar distortions

Super-Lattice Structure and Phase Evolution of Pb(Lu0.5Nb0.5)O3-PbTiO3 Single Crystal with Low PbTiO3

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