arXiv subjects

J. Hlinka

Publications and source records attributed to J. Hlinka.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Giant dielectric permittivity in Nb-doped rutile crystals

Dielectric properties of Nb-doped (~1.5 at%) rutile single crystals were studied in the 10-300 K temperature range (at frequencies below the MHz range down to 0.3 K) in a broad frequency range, up to terahertz and infrared range, to understand the origin of its giant permittivity. The results were fitted, modelled and compared with those of the undoped rutile crystal measured in the terahertz and infrared ranges. The primary effect originates from the near-electrode depletion layer of lower conductivity compared to the bulk (surface barrier-layer capacitor effect), which causes a strong thermally activated relaxation in the MHz dielectric spectra. In the higher frequency range, the main difference between doped and undoped crystals is the presence of an overdamped microwave excitation (central mode) in the doped crystal for both polarizations, persisting down to 10 K and not thermally activated. This accounts for the previously reported permittivity increase, even at 2 K - where all lower-frequency relaxations are frozen - compared to undoped crystals. It also explains why our low-frequency permittivity at 0.3K exceeds the THz value. The origin of this excitation remains unclear and requires further investigations. Doping affects polar phonons only by slightly increasing their damping.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Photovoltaic creation of charged domain walls in barium titanate

The optical control of domain structures in ferroelectrics is of great interest. In the present work, we demonstrate the reliable creation of charged domain walls - conductive channels in otherwise insulating barium titanate - by a combined effect of light and electric field. We propose a scenario for the documented process, in which the bulk photovoltaic effect plays the key role, providing charge screening at the walls. Our scenario is supported by the results of phase-field simulations. The results are of interest for future reconfigurable electronic and opto-electronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Microscopic flexoelectricity in the canonical PMN relaxor

Previously reported neutron scattering investigations of the canonical relaxor ferroelectric perovskite oxide with a chemical formula Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3 (PMN) are revisited in order to appreciate the role of the intrinsic bulk flexoelectricity. Despite the outstanding electromechanical properties of lead-based relaxors, the magnitude of the flexoelectric coupling coefficient derived here directly from the PMN neutron diffuse scattering data, does not exceed the range of values typical for conventional perovskite ferroelectrics. We explain how these findings are related in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire and the ferroelectric soft mode theory. We propose that the relaxor properties of PMN might be related to the suppression of the transverse correlation length of the flexoelectrically hybridized translational-polarization fluctuations due to its closeness to the Lifshitz-point regime.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Non-reciprocal neutral ferroelectric domain walls in BiFeO3

This paper analyzes a peculiar phenomenon of non-reciprocal domain wall pairs and illustrate the implications in ab-initio-based atomistic computational experiments with (112)-oriented planar R180 domain walls within the canonical multiferroic ferroelectric crystal of BiFeO3. Results show that parallel walls on the opposite sides of a given domain within a simply twinned lamellar domain structure can have considerably different polarization and oxygen octahedra tilt profiles, different thickness and energy densities. The spontaneous formation of zigzag walls and triangular domains suggests that these domain walls are actually the lowest energy planar R180 walls in pure insulating BiFeO3 crystals and films.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Orbital angular momentum impact on light scattering by phonons tested experimentally

Polarized Raman spectra of piezoelectric bismuth germanate single crystal were recorded using vortex light in order to verify the predicted symmetry selection rules for Raman scattering of photons with nonzero orbital angular momentum. At first, the phonon spectrum is fully characterized by the infrared reflectivity and Raman scattering with ordinary light. Then, vortex light Raman spectra were compared with the ordinary ones, but no influence of the orbital momentum on the Raman spectra of Bi$_4$Ge$_3$O$_{12}$ was observed. In particular, we experimentally negate the theoretical prediction that Raman scattering using vortex light can yield frequencies of the silent optic modes of Bi$_4$Ge$_3$O$_{12}$. We also have not seen evidence for the predicted symmetry-lowering of the Raman scattering tensors of $E$ modes. We propose that the orbital momentum effects are inaccessible to the ordinary Raman spectroscopy experiments because of the tiny magnitudes of typical phonon coherence lengths.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Creation, annihilation and transport of nonmagnetic antiskyrmions within Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model

Atomistic model calculations recently revealed that the polarization pattern at the cross-section through nanoscale ferroelectric nanodomains in rhombohedral barium titanate shows a clear antiskyrmion attributes such as the net invariant topological charge of minus two. The present work confirms that these topological defects also exist as local minima in the discretized Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model, which is widely used in the phase-field modeling studies. We explore by phase-field simulations how an electric field can be used to create or move antiskyrmions within a monodomain ferroelectric matrix. The process of the field-induced antiskyrmion annihilation reveals the existence of a discrete ladder of intermediate antiskyrmion states with distinct radii but common symmetry, topology and geometrical properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Charged domain walls in BaTiO$_3$ crystals emerging from superdomain boundaries

Previous experiments with BaTiO$_3$ single crystals have shown that application of the electric field in the vicinity of the ferroelectric phase transition can be used to introduce peculiar persisting ferroelectric domain walls, accompanied by the compensating charge in the form of two-dimensional electron gas. The present in-situ optical observations of such electric poling process reveal formation of a transient coexistence of the cubic and ferroelectric phases, the latter one being broken into multiple martensitic superdomains, separated by superdomain walls. It is revealed that as the transient superdomains convert into the regular ferroelectric domains, the superdomain boundaries transform into the desired charged domain walls. In order to assign the observed transient domain patterns, to understand the shapes of the observed ferrolectric precipitates and their agglomerates as well as to provide the overall interpretation of the observed domain formation process, the implications of the mechanical compatibility of the coexisting superdomain states is derived in the framework of the Wechsler-Lieberman-Read theory. The results also suggest that the transport of the compensating charge carriers towards the final charged domain wall location is directly associated with the electric conductivity and interlinked motion and growth of the superdomain walls and phase fronts.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

A re-examination of antiferroelectric PbZrO$_3$ and PbHfO$_3$: an 80-atom $Pnam$ structure

First principles density functional theory (DFT) simulations of antiferroelectric (AFE) PbZrO$_3$ and PbHfO$_3$ reveal a dynamical instability in the phonon spectra of their purported low temperature $Pbam$ ground states. This instability doubles the $c$-axis of $Pbam$ and condenses five new small amplitude phonon modes giving rise to an 80-atom $Pnam$ structure. Compared with $Pbam$, the stability of this structure is slightly enhanced and highly reproducible as demonstrated through using different DFT codes and different treatments of electronic exchange & correlation interactions. This suggests that $Pnam$ is a new candidate for the low temperature ground state of both materials. With this finding, we bring parity between the AFE archetypes and recent observations of a very similar AFE phase in doped or electrostatically engineered BiFeO$_3$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators on complex networks mimic epileptic-seizure-related synchronization phenomena

We study patterns of partial synchronization in a network of FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators with empirical structural connectivity measured in human subjects. We report the spontaneous occurrence of synchronization phenomena that closely resemble the ones seen during epileptic seizures in humans. In order to obtain deeper insights into the interplay between dynamics and network topology, we perform long-term simulations of oscillatory dynamics on different paradigmatic network structures: random networks, regular nonlocally coupled ring networks, ring networks with fractal connectivities, and small-world networks with various rewiring probability. Among these networks, a small-world network with intermediate rewiring probability best mimics the findings achieved with the simulations using the empirical structural connectivity. For the other network topologies, either no spontaneously occurring epileptic-seizure-related synchronization phenomena can be observed in the simulated dynamics, or the overall degree of synchronization remains high throughout the simulation. This indicates that a topology with some balance between regularity and randomness favors the self-initiation and self-termination of episodes of seizure-like strong synchronization.

nlin.AO↗

arXiv2020

Polarity of domain boundaries in nonpolar materials derived from order parameter and layer group symmetry

Domain boundaries and other twin boundaries in crystalline materials are receiving increasing interest. They can carry unique functional properties, which in many cases are absent in the surrounding bulk material. One such property of domain boundaries can be their electric polarity. Phenomenological insight in the polarity of domain boundaries was so far based either on the knowledge of the order parameter and the form of Landau-Ginzburg free energy functional, or on the knowledge of the symmetry of the domain boundaries. In the present work we show on the concrete examples of potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) and lacunar spinel crystals, that the concept of the primary order-parameter can help to find the layer group describing the maximal possible symmetry of a given domain boundary. Combination of layer group and order parameter symmetries is then employed to clarify the nature of the polarity of domain boundaries.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Vector, Bidirector and Bloch Skyrmion Phases Induced by Structural Crystallographic Symmetry Breaking

The 212 species of structural phase transitions which break macroscopic symmetry are analyzed with respect to the occurrence of time-reversal invariant vector and bidirector order parameters. The possibility of discerning the orientational domain states of the low-symmetry phase by these `vectorlike' physical properties has been derived using a computer algorithm exploiting the concept of polar, axial, chiral and neutral dipoles. It is argued that for species 32 > 3, 422 > 4 and 622 > 6, Bogdanov-Yablonskii phenomenological theory for a ferromagnetic Bloch Skyrmions applies also to the ferroelectric Bloch Skyrmions. In these fully-ferroelectric and nonferroelastic species, the Ginzburg Landau functional allows a pseudo-Lifshitz invariant of chiral bidirector symmetry, analogous to the chiral Dzyaloshinskii-Moria term assumed in magnetic Bloch Skyrmion theory.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

BaTiO3 thin films as transitional ferrroelectrics with giant dielectric response

Proximity to phase transitions (PTs) is frequently responsible for the largest dielectric susceptibilities in ferroelectrics. The impracticality of using temperature as a control parameter to reach those large responses has motivated the design of solid solutions with phase boundaries between different polar phases at temperatures (typically room temperature) significantly lower than the paraelectric-ferroelectric critical temperature. The flat energy landscapes close to these PTs give rise to polarization rotation under external stimuli, being responsible for the best piezoelectrics so far and a their huge market. But this approach requires complex chemistry to achieve temperature-independent PT boundaries and often involves lead-containing compounds. Here we report that such a bridging state is possible in thin films of chemically simple materials such as BaTiO3. A coexistence of tetragonal, orthorhombic and their bridging low-symmetry phases are shown to be responsible for the continuous vertical polarization rotation, recreating a smear in-transition state and leading to giant temperature-independent dielectric response. These features are distinct from those of single crystals, multi-domain crystals, ceramics or relaxor ferroelectrics, requiring a different description. We believe that other materials can be engineered in a similar way to form a class of ferroelectrics, in which MPB solid solutions are also included, that we propose to coin as transitional ferroelectrics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Local structure of relaxor ferroelectric Sr$_x$Ba$_{1-x}$Nb$_2$O$_6$ from pair distribution function analysis

Neutron pair distribution function analysis and first principles calculations have been employed to study short-range correlations in heavily disordered dielectric material Sr$_x$Ba$_{1-x}$Nb$_2$O$_6$ ($x=0.35, 0.5$ and 0.61). The combination of methods has been fruitful in pinpointing main local-structure features, their temperature behaviour and interrelation. A rather complex system of tilts is found to be both temperature and Sr-content sensitive with the biggest tilt magnitudes reached at low temperatures and high $x$. Relative Nb-O$_6$ displacements, directly responsible for material's ferroelectric properties, are shown to be distinct in two octahedra sub-systems with different freezing temperatures and disparate levels of deviation from macroscopic polarization direction. Intrinsic disorder caused by Sr, Ba and vacancy distribution is found to introduce local strain to the structure and directly influence octahedra tilting. These findings establish a new atomistic picture of the local structure -- property relationship in Sr$_x$Ba$_{1-x}$Nb$_2$O$_6$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Infrared, terahertz, and microwave spectroscopy of the soft and central modes in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3

From the new infrared (IR) reflectivity and time-domain terahertz (THz) spectra combined with available high-frequency dielectric data above the MHz range in a broad temperature range of 10-900 K, a full picture of the soft and central mode behavior in the classical relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) is suggested. A detailed comparison is given with the recent hyper-Raman spectroscopy data (Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 155501 (2016)), and also with other available experiments based on inelastic light and neutron scattering. The closest agreement is with the hyper-Raman data, both techniques yield the same number of soft-mode components and the same high-temperature softening towards the temperature T* ~ 400 K. In addition to evaluation of the IR-THz data using fitting with standard factorized form of the dielectric function, we performed a successful fitting of the same data using the effective medium approach (EMA), originally based on the assumption that the mesoscopic structure of PMN consists of randomly oriented uniaxially anisotropic polar nanodomains (PNDs) with somewhat harder TO polar modes in the direction along the local PND dipole (Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 027601 (2006)). Evaluation using the Bruggeman EMA modelling has been successfully applied in the entire investigated temperature range. These results suggest that the response perpendicular to the local dipole moment, at high temperatures induced by random fields rather than PNDs, undergoes a classical softening from high temperatures with permittivity obeying the Curie-Weiss law, eps_per = C/(T-Tc), C = 1.7 x 10^5 K and Tc = 380 K. Below the Burns temperature ~620 K, a GHz relaxation ascribed to flipping of the PNDs emerges from the soft mode response, slows down and broadens, remaining quite strong towards the cryogenic temperatures, where it can be assigned to fluctuations of the PND boundaries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Dynamic Displacement Disorder of Cubic BaTiO$_3$

The three dimensional distribution of the X-ray diffuse scattering intensity of BaTiO$_3$ has been recorded in a synchrotron experiment and simultaneously computed using molecular dynamics simulations of a shell-model. Together these have allowed the details of the disorder in paraelectric BaTiO$_3$ to be clarified. The narrow sheets of diffuse scattering, related to the famous anisotropic longitudinal correlations of Ti ions, are shown to be caused entirely by the overdamped anharmonic soft phonon branch. This finding demonstrates that the occurrence of narrow sheets of diffuse scattering agrees with a displacive picture of the cubic phase of this textbook ferroelectric material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Ising lines: natural topological defects within chiral ferroelectric domain walls

Phase-field simulations demonstrate that the polarization order-parameter field in the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model of rhombohedral ferroelectric BaTiO3 allows for an interesting linear defect, stable under simple periodic boundary conditions. This linear defect, termed here as Ising line, can be described as about 2 nm thick intrinsic paraelectric nanorod acting as a highly mobile borderline between finite portions of Bloch-like domain walls of the opposite helicity. These Ising lines play the role of domain boundaries associated with the Ising-to-Bloch domain wall phase transition.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Eight types of physical "arrows" distinguished by Newtonian space-time symmetry

The paper draws the attention to the spatiotemporal symmetry of various vector-like physical quantities. The symmetry is specified by their invariance under the action of symmetry operations of the Opechowski nonrelativistic space-time rotation group O(3).{1, 1'}= O'(3), where 1' is time-reversal operation. It is argued that along with the canonical polar vector, there are another 7 symmetrically distinct classes of stationary physical quantities, which can be - and often are - denoted as standard three-components vectors, even though they do not transform as a static polar vector under all operations of O'(3). The octet of symmetrically distinct "directional quantities" can be exemplified by: two kinds of polar vectors (electric dipole moment P and magnetic toroidal moment T, two kinds of axial vectors (magnetization M and electric toroidal moment G), two kinds of chiral "bi-directors" C and F (associated with the so-called true and false chirality, resp.) and still another two achiral "bi-directors" N and L, transforming as the nematic liquid crystal order parameter and as the antiferromagnetic order parameter of the hematite crystal alpha-Fe2O3, respectively.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2014

Close-circuit domain quadruplets in BaTiO$_3$ nanorods embedded in SrTiO$_3$ film

Cylindrical BaTiO3 nanorods embedded in (100)-oriented SrTiO3 epitaxial film in a brush-like configuration are investigated in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire model. It is shown that strain compatibility at BaTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces keeps BaTiO3 nanorods in the rhombohedral phase even at room temperature. Depolarization field at the BaTiO3/SrTiO3 interfaces is reduced by an emission of the 109-degree or 71-degree domain boundaries. In case of nanorods of about 10-80 nm diameter, the ferroelectric domains are found to form a quadruplet with a robust flux-closure arrangement of the in-plane components of the spontaneous polarization. The out-of-plane components of the polarization are either balanced or oriented up or down along the nanorod axis. Switching of the out-of-plane polarization with coercive field of about $5.10^6$ V/m occurs as a collapse of a 71-degree cylindrical domain boundary formed at the curved circumference surface of the nanorod. The remnant domain quadruplet configuration is chiral, with the $C_4$ macroscopic symmetry. More complex stable domain configurations with coexisting clockwise and anticlockwise quadruplets contain interesting arrangement of strongly curved 71-degree boundaries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗