We report the first instance of deposition of preferentially oriented, nanocrystalline, and nanocolumnar strontium-doped lead zirconate titanate (PSZT) ferroelectric thin films directly on thermal silicon dioxide. No intermediate seed or activation layers were used between PSZT and silicon dioxide. The deposited thin films have been characterised using a combination of diffraction and microscop...

Sr(0.59)Ba(0.41)Nb(2)O(6) and Sr(0.75)Ba(0.25)Nb(2)O(6) exhibit an intensity-dependent absorption in the visible spectral range. We perform pump (green)-probe (red) measurements and find variation as high as 0.45 cm(-1) in the absorption coefficient, which depends significantly on the polarization of the probe light beam. Our results indicate a nonexponential dark decay time of the induced abso...

Annealed bulk crystals of barium titanate (BaTiO3) exhibit persistent photoconductivity (PPC) at room temperature. Samples were annealed in a flowing gas humid argon and hydrogen, with higher flow rate corresponding to larger PPC. When exposed sub-bandgap light, broad infrared (IR) absorption peak appears 5000 cm−1 (2 μm), attributed polaronic or free-carrier from electrons the conduction band....