Sc doping in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 enhances the B-site 1:1 cation order significantly but promotes the ferroelectric polar order moderately. At low doping levels, the electrical polar domains remain at the nanometer scale and the relaxor ferroelectric behavior is preserved. A normal ferroelectric state can be triggered with electric fields from the relaxor state at lower temperatures. This electric-...

Barium titanate (BaTiO3, BTO) ferroelectrics are polar material that exhibits net spontaneous polarization without external applied field [1,2]. The polarization can be reoriented by applying the electric field. BTO with perovskite structure is widely used due to their ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties in various electronic applications such as multi-layer ceramic capacit...

Sol–gel derived Bi2Ti2O7 ceramic powders have been prepared from methoxyethoxides of bismuth and titanium (molar ratio of Ti/Bi = 1.23 and water/alkoxides= 1.31). The Bi2Ti2O7 phase was stable at a low temperature (700 ◦C), but it then transformed into mixed phases of Bi4Ti3O12 and Bi2Ti4O11 at 850–1150 ◦C. The single phase of Bi2Ti2O7 reoccurred at 1200 ◦C. Dielectric properties and ferroelect...

Bismuth ferrite, BiFeO3, is an important multiferroic material that has attracted remarkable attention for potential applications in functional devices. While thin films of BiFeO3 are attractive for applications in nanoelectronics, bulk polycrystalline BiFeO3 has great potential as a lead-free and/or high-temperature actuator material. However, the actuation mechanisms in bulk BiFeO3 are still ...

Electric fields are generally known to favor the ferroelectric polar state over the antiferroelectric nonpolar state for their Coulomb interactions with dipoles in the crystal. In this paper, we directly image an electricfieldassisted ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase transition during polarization reversal of the ferroelectric phase in polycrystalline Pb0.99{Nb0.02[(Zr0.57Sn0.43)0.92Ti0...

Known and unknown behaviors of three nonlinear systems are described in this paper. The power harvesting project is mentioned where the power generation mat using piezoelectric elements was experimented and demonstrated in Tokyo station of Japan Railways east (JR-east) company in 2006 and 2008 respectively. The commuters and passengers generate electric power by passing the power generation mat...

In the last two decades, scanning probe microscopies (SPMs) have become the primary tool for addressing structure and electronic, mechanical, optical, and transport phenomena on the nanometer and atomic scales. Here, we summarize basic principles of SPM as applied for oxide materials characterization and present recent advances in high-resolution imaging and local property measurements. The use...

Non-180° ferroelectric domains are also ferroelastic domains; their existence in polycrystalline materials is to relieve internal stresses generated during solid-solid phase transitions and minimize the elastic distortion energy. Therefore, grains with random orientations in polycrystalline ceramics are always occupied by many domains, especially in the regions close to grain boundaries. In thi...