Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1511.07097

Extrinsic Rayleigh coefficient and domain mobility in critical MPB compositions of high-performance piezoceramics: A revisit

Mulualem Abebe·Rajeev Ranjan
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Enhanced domain mobility is considered as one of the important characteristics of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) ferroelectrics exhibiting a very large piezoelectric response. For nearly two decades, Rayleigh analysis of dielectric and piezoelectric response at sub-coercive fields has been used as a phenomenological tool to determine the relative contribution of domain walls in influencing polar properties in these systems. The high value of the extrinsic Rayleigh coefficient at the MPB is generally attributed to enhanced domain mobility. Using coercive field as a measure of hindrance to domain mobility, in this paper, we have examined the correlation between the extrinsic Rayleigh coefficient, piezoelectric response, and coercive field (EC) by a comparative study on three different high performance piezoelectrics (i) (BaTi0.88Sn0.12)-(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3, (ii) Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 and (iii) PbTiO3-BiScO3 across their respective MPBs. Our study shows that although the three systems exhibit maximum piezoelectric response and maximum extrinsic Rayleigh coefficient for their respective MPB compositions, the domain mobility in the MPB compositions of the Pb-based systems is not the highest. The lead-free system, on the other hand, exhibits highest domain mobility for the critical MPB composition. Contrary to the common perception, our study reveals that large value of the Rayleigh coefficient at the MPB is not necessarily indicative of enhanced domain mobility. We argue that the large piezoresponse in MPB systems is a result of complex interplay of field induced motion of the interphase boundaries and domain walls. In the lead-based systems the interphase boundary motion hinders domain wall mobility. The large value of the Rayleigh coefficient and piezoresponse in the Pb-based systems is because of the dominant role of the interphase boundary motion instead of the enhanced domain wall mobility.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Mulualem Abebe, Rajeev Ranjan. 2015-11-23. Extrinsic Rayleigh coefficient and domain mobility in critical MPB compositions of high-performance piezoceramics: A revisit. https://arxiv.org/abs/1511.07097

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Measuring chiral phonons

Chiral phonons are quantized vibrations where the atomic motion in a solid breaks improper rotation symmetries. In many cases, chiral phonons possess angular momenta and are therefore selective to circularly polarized light. Both fundamental and applied research efforts on chiral phonons have been gaining increasing attention owing to their importance in a variety of fields including spintronics, spin-selective chemical reactions, thermal transport, quantum information processing and biosensing, where the bi-directional spin-lattice coupling enabled by chiral phonons can be harnessed in new ways, and potentially lead to new functionalities. Thus far, the studies of chiral phonons across diverse materials platforms have evolved largely independently within these fields, but the experimental techniques are often interrelated. In this perspective, we present a detailed description, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the current approaches for experimentally measuring chiral phonons in chiral and achiral materials. We conclude with a discussion of new methods for measuring chiral phonons. Ultimately, this work seeks to offer an experimental guide for systematically investigating the properties of chiral phonons in various materials systems and applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2026

A model of grain growth in UN integrating molecular dynamics, phase-field modeling, and uncertainty quantification

Grain growth kinetics and grain-boundary (GB) properties in uranium mononitride (UN) are investigated through an integrated multiscale framework combining molecular dynamics (MD), phase-field modeling, and surrogate-assisted uncertainty quantification. MD simulations yield GB energies for 27 symmetric tilt boundaries from 0--2000~K, which are consistent with available DFT values. The average GB energy is nearly temperature-independent below 1000~K and increases at higher temperatures. A mechanistic pore-drag model applied to the only available grain growth dataset for actinide nitrides yields a mobility reduction factor of $s \approx 0.93$--$0.99$, statistically indistinguishable from unity, confirming that pore drag is negligible under the experimental conditions. The intrinsic GB mobility is therefore extracted directly from the effective mobility, yielding $M_0 = 2.05\times10^{-15}$~m$^4$/(J$\cdot$s) and $Q_M = 0.89$~eV. Phase-field simulations conducted from 1500--2000~K confirm normal curvature-driven grain growth, with grain size distributions converging to the Hillert-like form. A surrogate-assisted global sensitivity analysis---combining principal component analysis, Gaussian process regression, and Sobol decomposition---reveals that the mobility prefactor $M_0$ dominates output variance at all times, followed by the activation energy $Q_M$, while the GB energy $\gamma$ contributes minimally. These results establish the first quantitative grain growth framework for UN and identify the reduction of uncertainty in $M_0$ and $Q_M$ as the highest-priority target for future experimental efforts.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2026

Silicon Solar Cell Design for >30% Efficiency via Singlet Fission

Singlet fission (SF) materials convert high-energy photons into multiple charge carriers, providing a route to exceed the efficiency limits of single-junction silicon solar cells without many of the complexities of multi-junction tandem designs. Following the first demonstration of an SF-enhanced silicon solar cell in 2025, there is a need to understand how SF materials can be effectively integrated into high-efficiency industrial silicon devices and translated from proof of concept to a manufacturable technology. Using coupled optical and electrical simulations, we assess the efficiency potential of several industrially relevant silicon cell architectures combined with SF materials. Interdigitated back-contact (IBC) cells offer the greatest potential for improvement due to unrestricted front-surface access and can achieve efficiencies exceeding 33%. However, performance is highly sensitive to front-surface passivation quality. Appropriate silicon design, particularly controlled surface doping and fixed interfacial charge, can mitigate recombination losses and relax passivation requirements for ultra-thin exciton-transfer layers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗