Domain Structure in Ferroelectrics and Related Materials

Contents:

Introduction

Formation of a domain structure as a result of the loss of stability of the crystalline lattice in ferroelectric and ferroelastic crystals of finite dimensions • Equilibrium domain structure in ferroelectrics • Formation of a modulated structure in a ferroelectric crystal under the conditions of homogeneous cooling • Formation of the domain structure in a ferroelectric plate of an arbitrary cut • Formation of the domain structure under the conditions of polarization screening by charges on surface states and by free charge carriers • Formation of the domain structure during inhomogeneous cooling of ferroelectrics • Formation of the domain structure in ferroelastic contacting a substrate, and in material with a free surface • The fine-domain structure in ferroelectric crystals with defects

Structure of domain and interphase boundaries in defect-free ferroelectrics and ferroelastics • Structure of 180”“ domain boundary in ferroelectrics within the framework of continuous approximation in crystals with phase transitions of the first and second order • Structure of the 90”“ domain boundary in ferroelectrics in continuous approximation • Structure of the domain boundary in the vicinity of the surface of a ferroelectric • Structure of the interphase boundaries in ferroelectrics • Structure of the domain boundaries in improper ferroelectrics and ferroelectrics with an incommensurate phase • Phase transitions in domain walls in ferroelectrics and related materials

Discussion of the microscopic structure of the domain boundaries in ferroelectrics • Lattice potential relief for a domain wall • Calculation of electric fields in periodic dipole structures. Determination of the correlation constant in the framework of the dipole-dipole interaction • Structure of the 180”“ and 90”“ domain walls in barium titanate crystal • Structure of the domain boundaries in ferroelectric crystals of the potassium dihydrophosphate group • Temperature dependence of the lattice barrier in crystals of the KH2PO4 solid solutions • Influence of tunnelling on the structure of domain boundaries in ferroelectrics of the order-disorder type • Structure of the domain boundaries in KH2 D2(1-x)PO4 solid solutions

Interaction of domain boundaries with crystalline lattice defects • Interaction of a ferroelectric domain boundary with a point charge defect • Dislocation description of bent domain walls in ferroelastics . Equation of incompatibility for spontaneous deformation • Interaction of the ferrroelectric-ferroelastic domain boundary with a point charged defect • Interaction of the domain boundary in ferroelastic with a dilatation centre • Interaction of the ferroelastic domain boundary with a dislocation parallel to the plane of the boundary • Interaction of the domain boundary of a ferroelastic with the dislocation perpendicular to the boundary plane

Structure of domain boundaries in real ferroactive materials • Orientation instability of the inclined domain boundaries in ferroelectrics. Formation of zig-zag domain walls • Broadening of the domain wall as a result of thermal fluctuations of its profile • Effective width of the domain wall in real ferroelectrics • Effective width of the domain wall in ferroelastic with defects

Mobility of domain boundaries in crystals with different barrier height in a lattice potential relief • Structure of the moving boundary, its limiting velocity and effective mass of a domain wall within the framework of the continual approximation. Mobility of the domain boundaries • Lateral motion of domain boundaries in ferroelectric crystals with high values of the barrier in the lattice relief of domain walls. The thermofluctuation mechanism of the domain walls. The thermofluctuation mechanism of the domain wall motion. Parameters of lateral walls of the critical nucleus on a domain wall • “Freezing” of the domain structure in the crystals of the KH2PO4 group

Natural and forced dynamics of boundaries in crystals of ferroelectrics and ferroelastics • Bending vibrations of 180”“ domain boundaries of defect-free ferroelectrics • Bending vibrations of domain boundaries of defect-free ferroelastics, ferroelastic-ferroelastics and 90”“ domain boundaries of ferroelastics • Translational vibrations of the domain structure in ferroelectrics and ferroelastics • Natural and forced translational vibrations of domain boundaries in real ferroelectrics and ferroelectrics-ferroelastics • Domain contribution to the initial dielectric permittivity of domain origin • Domain contribution to the elastic compliance of ferroelastics • Non-linear dielectric properties of ferroelectrics, associated with the motion of domain boundaries • Ageing and degradation of ferroelectric materials

References • Index

 

About the Author:

Alexander Stepanovich Sidorkin is a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, the Director of the Research and Education Center “Wave Processes in inhomogeneous and Non-Linear Media”, Head of the Experimental Department of the Voronezh State University, a member of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Physics of Ferroelectrics and Dielectrics.