<p>Microwave materials have been widely used in a variety of applications ranging from communication devices to military satellite services, and the study of materials properties at microwave frequencies and the development of functional microwave materials have always been among the most active areas in solid-state physics, materials science, and electrical and electronic engineering. In recent years, the increasing requirements for the development of high speed, high frequency circuits and systems require complete understanding of the properties of materials function at microwave frequencies.</p><p>Ferroelectric materials usually have high dielectric constants, and their dielectric properties are temperature and electric field dependent. The change in permittivity as a function of electric field is the key to a wide range of applications. Ferroelectric materials can be used in fabrication capacitors for electronic industry because of their high dielectric constants, and this is important in the trend toward miniaturization and high functionality of electronic products. The simple tunable passive component based on ferroelectric films is a varactor which can be made as a planar structure, and electrically tunable microwave integrated circuits using ferroelectric thin films can be developed. Therefore, it is very important to characterize the dielectric constant and tunability of ferroelectric thin films.</p><p>This thesis shows experimental results for growth, crystalline properties and microwave characterization of Na0.5K0.5NbO3 (NKN), AgTa0.5Nb0.5O3 (ATN), Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) as well as AgTaO3 (ATO), AgNbO3 (ANO) thin films. The films were grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and rf-magnetron sputtering of a stoichiometric, high density, ceramic NKN, ATN, BST target onto single crystal LaAlO3(LAO), Al2O3 (sapphire), and Nd:YAlO3, and amorphous glass substrates. By x-ray diffractometry, NKN, ATN, BST films on LAO substrates were found to grow epitaxially, whereas films on r-cut sapphire substrates were found to be preferentially (00l) oriented.</p><p>Coplanar waveguide interdigital capacitor (CPWIDC) structures were fabricated by standard photolithography processing and metal lift-off technique. Microwave properties of the NKN/Sapphire and ATN/Sapphire with CPW structures were characterized using on-wafer microwave measurement technique. Measurement setup is composed of network analyzer, probe station, and microwave G-S-G probes. External electric field through the connection between network analyzer and power supply was applied to measure voltage tunability. Measured S-parameter were used for the calculation of capacitance, loss tanδ, tunability and K-factor.</p><p>The NKN films interdigital capacitors with 2 μm finger gap on Nd:YAlO3 showed superior performance compared to ATN in the microwave range from 1 to 40 GHz. Within this range, the voltage tunability (40V, 200 kV/cm) was about 29%, loss tangent ∼ 0.13, K-factor = tunability/tanδ from 152% @ 10GHz to 46% @ 40GHz.</p><p>The microwave performance of ATN film CPWIDC with 2 μm finger gap on sapphire substrate in the microwave range from 1 to 40 GHz showed that frequency dispersion is about 4.3%, voltage tunability was 4.7% @ 20GHz and 200 kV/cm, loss tangent ∼ 0.068 @ 20GHz, K-factor = tunability/tanδ is ranged from 124% @ 10GHz to 35% @ 40GHz.</p><p>The BST films CPWIDC with 2μmfinger gap on Al2O3 substrate showed frequency dispersion of capacitance in the microwave range from 1 to 40 GHz about 17%, voltage tunability = 1 - C(40V)/C(0) ∼ 22.2%, loss tangent ∼ 0.137 @ 20GHz, and K-factor = tunability/tanδ from 281% @ 10GHz to 95% @ 40GHz.</p>

Ferroelectric materials have received lots of attention thanks to their intriguing properties such as the piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects, as well as the large dielectric constants and the spontaneous polarization which can potentially be used for information storage. In particular, perovskite crystal has a very simple unit cell structure yet a very rich phase transition diagram, which makes it one of the most intensively studied ferroelectric materials. In this dissertation, we use effective Hamiltonian, a first-principles-based computational technique to study the finite-temperature properties of ferroelectric perovskites. We studied temperature-graded (BaxSr1-x )TiO3 (BST) bulk alloys as well as the dynamics of nanodomain walls (nanowalls) in Pb(ZrxTi1-x )O3 (PZT) ultra-thin films under the driving force of an AC field. Our computations suggest that, for the temperature-graded BST, the polarization responds to the temperature gradient (TG), with the "up" and "down" offset observed in polarization components along the direction of TG, in agreement with the findings from experiments. For the nanowalls in PZT, the dynamics can be described by the damped-harmonic-oscillator model, and we observed a size-driven transition from resonance to relaxational dynamics at a critical thickness of 7.2 nm. The transition originates from the change in the effective mass of a nanowall as a film thickness increases. Some of the findings may find potential applications in various devices, such as thermal sensors, energy converters, or novel memory units.

Šiai dienai ypač populiarūs ferroelektrikai susidedantys iš kelių feroiškai aktyvių subgardelių, kurių persitvarkymas fazinio virsmo temperatūroje atskleidžia naujų, dar neaprašytų reiškinių. Prie šių medžiagų priskiriami antiferoelektrikai, ferielektrikai ir multiferoikai. Šiame darbe buvo tiriama nauja medžiagų šeimos MNP2X6 (M = Cu, Ag; N=In, Cr, Bi; X=S, Se ), kurios pasižymi ferielektrinėmis bei multiferoinėmis savybėmis, ir kurių dielektrines ir elektrines savybes galima efektyviai keisti įvedant priemaišas. Minėtų medžiagų dielektrinės ir elektrinės savybės buvo tiriamos dielektrinės spektroskopijos metodais, kurie leidžia tirti kristalų kolektyvinius reiškinius susijusius su tvarkos – netvarkos bei poslinkio tipo faziniais virsmais, jonų migracija bei dipolių užšalimu (stiklėjimu) plačiame dažnių (10-5 Hz iki 3 GHz) bei temperatūrų (25 K iki 500 K) intervaluose. Įvedus 10% Ag jonų vietoj Cu jonų ferielektriniame kristale CuInP2S6 fazinio virsmo temperatūra pasislenka į žemesnias temperatūras, o padidinus indžio koncentraciją fazinio virsmo temperatūra pasislenka į aukštesnes temperatūras. Minėtų kristalų fazinių virsmų temperatūrų skirtumas 50 K. Sumaišius skirtingomis proporcijomis feroelektriką (CuInP2S6) su antiferoelektriku (CuCrP2S6) stebima dipolinio stiklo fazė. Iš dielektrinių matavimų stiklo fazėje buvo paskaičiuota relaksacijos trukmių pasiskirstymo funkcija, kurios aprašymas dvigubos potencialinės duobės modeliu leido susieti mikroskopinius kristalo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Nowadays the ferroelectrics containing of several feroically active sublattices are very attractive, because interactions between these sublattices can caused novel phenomena. Antiferroelectrics, ferrielectrics and multiferoics belong to these materials. In this work new crystalline materials MNP2X6 (M = Cu, Ag; N=In, Cr, Bi; X=S, Se) were investigated, which have ferrielectric and multiferoic properties. The dielectric and electric properties of above mentioned materials have been investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy methods, which allows to analyze the collective processes related to order – disorder and displacive phase transitions, ions migration and freezing of dipoles (glassy state) in wide temperature (25 K - 500 K) and frequency (10-5 HZ - 3 GHz) ranges. By substitution or doping it becomes possible to tailor the ferroelectric materials to different properties. In this work is determined that the substitution of 10% Cu ions by Ag ions shifts the phase transition temperature of CuInP2S6 crystal toward lower temperatures while the addition of In ions shifts the phase transitions temperature toward the higher ones. The phase transition temperature difference is about 50 K for mentioned crystals. If the ferroelectric crystal CuInP2S6 is mixed with the antiferroelectric CuCrP2S6 the dipole glass phase occupies the middle of the phase diagram. The distribution of relaxation times has been calculated from the broadband dielectric spectra of dipolar glasses. The... [to full text]

Concomitantly with lattice disorder, there is a discrepancy between local and global scales in relaxor ferroelectrics, in that structural distortions occurring at the local scale are not reflected in the average global structure which remains cubic. There is an absence of direct implementation of the local symmetry in the modeling of relaxors, despite its considerable, but often unacknowledged, ability to encode local features. Central to the thesis is an explicit account for local gauge symmetry within the first-principles-derived effective Hamiltonian approach. The thesis thus aims to consider how an extended symmetry allowing independent transformations at different points in space can effectively bridge local features and macroscopical properties. An underlying question the thesis also seeks to answer is whether the disorder-induced non-trivial interplay between local and global scales can be described from a topological point of view

he extent of BiInO₃ substitution in the perovskite system xBiInO(₃)-(1 - x)PbTiO₃ and the corresponding raise in the transition temperature were investigated using thermal analysis, dielectric measurements, x-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy. Maximum tetragonal perovskite distortion (c/a = 1.082) was obtained for x = 0.20, with a corresponding Curie temperature of 582°C. Phase-pure tetragonal perovskite was obtained for x less than or equal to 0.25. Compound formation after calcining mixed oxide powders resulted in agglomerated cube-shaped tetragonal perovskite particles, which could be fired to 94.7% of theoretical density (TD). Niobium-modified BIPT ceramics with PT contents of 80% and 85% were found to possess significantly lower dielectric loss at elevated temperatures, making it possible to polarize the materials. Piezoelectric properties were measured for a 1.5 mol% Nb -0.15BI-0.85PT composition with a transition temperature of 542°C; the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient and coercive field were found to be 60 pC/N and 125 kV/cm, respectively. Compositions of xBiLaO₃-(1 − x)PbTiO₃ over the range 0 < x < 0.225 were calcined and sintered. Dielectric constant with temperature and differential scanning calorimetry measurements were in excellent agreement with respect to a Curie-like tetragonal to cubic transformations starting at 495°C for pure PbTiO₃, shifting to lower temperatures with increasing x. For compositions of x > 0.05, a second higher-temperature (∼600°C) endotherm, and matching dielectric anomaly, were consistently observed, for which there were no structural changes indicated by hot-stage x-ray diffraction. This transformation was interpreted to be similar to a Curie transformation in relaxor ferroelectrics in which localized segregation of B-site cations (below the resolution limit of x-ray diffraction) facilitated ferroelectric behavior.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-02-11Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:30:15Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bellucci_fs_me_bauru.pdf: 1672549 bytes, checksum: 747a54cb81f0feea1d7b6de7d89f3600 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar efeitos de escala e tamanho através de medidas de permissividade dielétrica de partículas nanométricas e/ou nanoestruturadas do óxido policátion niobato de potássio dopado com estrôncio (K'Sr IND. 2' N'b IND. 5' 'O IND. 15'), um óxido ferroelétrico da família tetragonal tungstênio bronze (TTB). A determinação da constante dielétrica de nanopartículas foi realizada através da técnica de mistura. Nesta técnica, nanopartículas de permissividade dielétrica desconhecidas são dispersas em um meio de permissividade dielétrica conhecida. A partir da resposta dielétrica da mistura a permissividade dielétrica das nanopartículas foram calculadas utilizando modelagem numérica via circuitos elétricos equivalentes. A fase K'Sr IND. 2' N'b IND. 5' 'O IND. 15, foi preparada por rota química (método poliol modificado), a temperatura de calcinação necessária à obtenção de nanopartículas foi otimizada e partículas nanoestruturadas de K'Sr IND. 2' N'b IND. 5' 'O IND. 15' monofásico foram avaliadas. A caracterização estrutural foi realizada utilizando as técnicas de difratometrica de raiox x (DRX), espectroscopia vibracional de absorção na região do infravermelho (FTIR) e ultravioleta visível (UV/vis) a partir das quais se avaliaram os parâmetros de rede, cristalinidade relativa, tamanho médio de cristalito, volume da cela unitária e energia de gap. Utilizando a técnica de espectroscopia de impedância entre 5 Hz e 3 MHz foram estudadas as propriedades dielétricas das amostras através de medidas de permissividade confirmando a existência de ferroeletricidade nas amostras e foi identificado o efeito de tamanho nas propriedades dielétricas das nanopartículas. / This work aimed the study of size effect through permittivity measurements of nanometric particles and/or nanostructured of niobate oxide K'Sr IND. 2' N'b IND. 5' 'O IND. 15', a ferroelectric oxide belonging to the tetragonal tungsten bronze family (TTB). Determination of nanoparticles dielectric constant was done using the mixture technique. In this technique, nanoparticles of unknown dielectric permittivity are dispersed in a medium of know dielectric permittivity. From the dielectric response of the mixture, the dielectric permittivity of the nanoparticles is calculated using numerical modeling by means of equivalent circuits. The K'Sr IND. 2' N'b IND. 5' 'O IND. 15' phase was prepared using a chemical route (polyol modified method) and the optmization of the temperature calcination was performed aiming to obtain nanoparticles and the resulting nanostructured particles were evaluated. The structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy allowing the evaluation of cell parameters, relative crystallinity and crystallite size, unitary cell volume and gap energy. The impedance spectroscopy technique in the range from 5 Hz to 3 MHz to study dielectric properties of samples was used. The presence of ferroelectric phase in samples was confirmed and the size effect was identified on nanoparticles.

Rhombohedral perovskite BiFeO3 is a single phase multiferroic compound exhibiting both magnetic (Neel temperature ~370˚C) and ferroelectric (Curie point ~840˚C) ordering well above the room temperature. Ferroelectricity in BiFeO3 is due to stereochemically active 6slone pair in Biion which causes large relative displacements of Bi and O ions along the [111] direction. Long range spiral modulation of the canted antiferromagnetic spin arrangement in Feeffectively cancels the macroscopic magnetization due to Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and thereby prevents linear magneto-electric effect. Synthesizing dense pure BiFeO3 by conventional solid state method is difficult due to the formation of thermodynamically stable secondary phases such as Bi2Fe4O9, Bi25FeO39 and Bi46Fe2O72. To stabilize the perovskite phase and to suppress the cycloid several groups have adopted different strategies such as thin film growth, different synthesis methods and chemical substitution. Of the various substitutions reported in the literature, PbTiO3 substitution has shown very interesting features, such as (i) unusually large tetragonality (c/a~1.19), (ii) formation of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and (iii) high curie point Tc~650C. MPB ferroelectric systems such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are known to exhibit high piezoelectric response due to the coupling between strain and polarization. Hence the existence of magnetic ordering in BiFeO3-PbTiO3 offers an interesting scenario where polarization, strain and magnetization may couple together. The high Curie point also makes the system an interesting candidate for high temperature piezoelectric application. However its potential as a high temperature piezoelectric material has not been realized yet. A detailed review of literature suggests a lack of clear agreement with regards to the composition range of the reported MPB itself. Different research groups have reported different composition range of MPB for this system even for almost similar synthesis conditions. The present thesis deals with broadly two parts, firstly with the preparation of pure BiFeO3 by co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods and its thermal stability and secondly resolving the cause of discrepancy in range of MPB reported in BiFeO3-PbTiO3 solid solution. Detailed examination of this system (BiFeO3-PbTiO3) around the reported MPB composition by temperature dependent X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction techniques, in conjunction with a systematic correlation of sintering temperature and time with microstructural and phase formation behavior revealed the fact that the formation of MPB or the single ferroelectric phase is critically dependent on the grain size. This phenomenon is also intimately related to the abnormal grain growth in this system. Chapter 1 gives the brief overview of the literature on the topics relevant to the present study. The literature survey starts with a brief introduction about the perovskite oxides; their ferroelectric, magnetic and multiferroic properties were discussed in further sections. A brief outline on the grain growth mechanism is described. An overview of BiFeO3 and various synthesis methods, different chemical substitutions and their effect on properties are provided. A brief review of published literature on BiFeO3-PbTiO3 solid solution and its properties is also presented. Chapter 2 deals with the synthesis of pure BiFeO3, heat treatment and characterisation. BiFeO3 was synthesised by (a) co-precipitation and (b) hydrothermal methods. In co-precipitation method, calcination of precipitate at different temperature resulted in the formation of BiFeO3 along with secondary phases (Bi2Fe4O9 and Bi24FeO39). The optimum calcination temperature to prepare pure BiFeO3 was found to be 560C. The synthesized pure BiFeO3 exhibits weak ferromagnetic hysteresis at room temperature, the degree of which increases slightly at 10K (-263C). The hydrothermal treatment was carried out in (a) carbonate and (b) hydroxide precipitates with KOH as mineralizer. BiFeO3 prepared using hydroxide precipitate was stable till 800C whereas with carbonate precipitate it was stable only till 600C. Chapter 3 deals with the stability of phases in (1-x)BiFeO3 -(x)PbTiO3 solid solution. Samples prepared by conventional solid state route sometimes remain as dense pellet and on certain occasions it disintegrate completely into powder observed after sintering. Irrespective of the composition, sintering time and temperature, powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern of the survived pellet (crushed into powder) shows coexistence of rhombohedral (R3c) and tetragonal (P4mm) phases and the disintegrated powder (without crushing) show 100% tetragonal (P4mm) phase. Very high spontaneous tetragonal strain (c/a-1) ~0.19 at MPB is believed to be the origin for disintegration. But in all the survived pellets at least a minor fraction of rhombohedral phase (5-7%) is present. Systematic sintering studies with the time and temperature shows, decreasing the sintering temperature and time will increase the lifetime of the pellet and by increasing the sintering temperature and time the pellet will disintegrate. In this work we have conclusively proved that the wide composition range of MPB reported in the literature is due to kinetic arrest of the metastable rhombohedral phase and that if sufficient temperature and time is given, the metastable phase disappears. The suppression/formation of minor rhombohedral phase is expected due to the play of local kinetic factors during the transformation process. This makes the system behave in an unpredictable way with regard to the fraction of rhombohedral phase that is observed at room temperature. A systematic X-ray and neutron powder diffraction study of the giant tetragonality multiferroic (1-x)BiFeO3 -(x)PbTiO3 have shown that the compositions close to the morphotropic phase boundary of this system present two different structural phase transition scenarios on cooling from the cubic phase: (i) Pm3m P4mm(T2)+P4mm(T1) P4mm (T1) and (ii) Pm3m P4mm(T2) + P4mm(T1) + R3c P4mm (T1) + R3c. The comparatively larger tetragonality of the T1 phase as compared to the coexisting isostructural T2 phase is shown to be a result of significantly greater degree of overlap of the Pb/Bi-6s and Ti/Fe-3d with the O-2p orbitals as compared to that in the T2 phase. High temperature electron diffraction studies show that the metastable rhombohedral phase is present in the cubic matrix well above the Curie point as nuclei. Life time of the metastable R3c nuclei is very sensitive to composition and temperature, and nearly diverges at x → 0.27. MPB like state appears only if the system is cooled before the metastable R3c nuclei could vanish. Issue of the metastable rhombohedral state is developed further in Chapter 4. A one-to-one correlation was found between the grain size and phase formation behavior. Fine grained (~1µm) microstructure (usually pellets) shows phase coexistence (R3c+P4mm) and the disintegrated coarse grains (~10µm) show tetragonal (P4mm) phase. Microstructural analysis revealed the disintegration was caused by abnormal grain growth along with the disappearance of metastable rhombohedral phase. Abnormal grain growth starts at the periphery/crack i.e., at the free surface and move towards the canter of the pellet. Size reduction of disintegrated coarse grains (~10µm) to fine grains (~1µm) by crushing the sample showed that the system switching form pure tetragonal (P4mm) state to the MPB state comprising of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases (R3c+P4mm). In another approach the smaller sized particles of x=0.20 were synthesized by sol gel method. It was reported that in conventional solid state route x=0.20 exhibits pure rhombohedral phase. The sol-gel sample calcined at 500C (particle size ~15nm) stabilizes tetragonal metastable phase along with the stable rhombohedral phase, the morphotropic phase boundary state. Samples calcined at higher temperature, 800C (particle size ~50nm) also showed stable rhombohedral phase. Ferromagnetic behavior was observed in the sample having phase coexistence and the sample with pure rhombohedral phase showed antiferromagnetic behavior. Hence this material is a promising candidate which can be tuned to exhibit different behavior just by adopting different grain size. Chapter 5 deals with the magnetic structure of (1-x)BiFeO3 -xPbTiO3 solid solution with change in composition and temperature. Magnetic structure was studied using powder neutron diffraction in the composition range x=0.05 -0.35. Rietveld analysis was carried out for the nuclear and magnetic phases, by considering R3c phase for the nuclear structure. To account for the magnetic Bragg peak at d=4.59Å, three antiferromagnetic models were considered for the magnetic structure: (i) helical spin arrangement as in BiFeO3, (ii) commensurate G-type antiferromagnetic ordering with moments in the a-b plane (of the hexagonal cell), and (iii) commensurate G-type ordering with moments parallel to the c-axis (of the hexagonal cell). The third model was found to be suitable to explain the magnetic peak accurately and the better fitting of magnetic peak was observed in this model compared to others. At room temperature the MPB compositions have rhombohedral and tetragonal nuclear phases along with the rhombohedral magnetic phase. Addition of PbTiO3 in BiFeO3 not only changes the magnetic structure but also reduces the magnetic moment due to the substitution of Ti in Fesite. High temperature neutron diffraction studies reveal the magnetic transition at ~300C for x=0.20, ~95C for x=0.27 and ~150C for x=0.35. The Neel temperature observed in neutron diffraction studies were also confirmed by DSC and by temperature dependent dielectric studies. For x=0.20, anomalous variation in the lattice parameters and the octahedral tilt angle was observed across the magnetic transition temperature. In the magnetic phase, the c-parameter was contracted and the octahedral tilt angle slightly increased. This result suggests a coupling between spin, lattice and structural degrees of freedom around the transition temperature. Temperature dependent powder neutron diffraction study at low temperature from 300K (27C) to 4K (-269C) in x=0.35 shows the evolution of tetragonal magnetic phase at 200K (-73C) whose intensity is increasing with decrease in temperature. Below 200K, x=0.35 has rhombohedral and tetragonal magnetic and nuclear phases. While in x=0.27 at low temperature, rhombohedral magnetic and nuclear phases are present along with the tetragonal nuclear phase alone (the tetragonal magnetic phase is absent). We propose this discrepancy in the Neel temperature and the magnetic phase formation can be due to the probabilistic nature of the existence of metastable rhombohedral phase which was discussed earlier.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-03-13Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:53:26Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 felix_aa_me_ilha.pdf: 3988287 bytes, checksum: d87d85fca7e813d5a8e3850d61c9c14e (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O presente trabalho descreve os estudos realizados para a síntese de filmes ferroelétricos ultrafinos de Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) e o estudo sistemático da cinética de cristalização deste material visando a obtenção de filmes monofásicos. Os filmes foram produzidos a partir da modificação de um método químico baseado em precursores óxidos. A obtenção dos filmes de PMN se deu através de uma técnica de duplo estágio, que possibilita maior controle na supressão de fases pirocloro, e da técnica via Método dos Precursores Óxidos (MPO), através da reação direta dos óxidos. Filmes de PMN foram preparados sobre substratos Si(100) com diferentes números de deposições. Esses filmes foram submetidos a tratamentos térmicos entre 400oC e 800ºC, em forno convencional, sob diferentes condições de preparo. A estrutura dos filmes foi investigada pela técnica de difração de raios-X e refinamentos da estrutura pelo método de Rietveld. Os resultados apresentaram uma coexistência da fase pirocloro Pb1.86Mg0.24Nb1.76O6.5 e da fase perovskita Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) nos filmes preparados via rota da Columbita e a supressão da fase prirocloro nos filmes preparados pelo método MPO. Um estudo da morfologia por MEV indicou a preparação de filmes com boa homogeinidade e espessura média de 150nm Os resultados obtidos neste projeto indicam que a estabilização da fase perovkita do PMN e a supressão da fase pirocloro está relacionada a uma combinação particular de parâmetros tais como tempo e temperatura de cristalização e a adição de excessos de MgO e PbO a estequiometria. / The present work describes the studies for the synthesis of ultrathin ferroelectric films of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) and the systematic study of the crystallization kinetics of this material aimed at obtaining singlephase films. The films were produced from the modification of a chemical method based on oxide precursors. The obtention of the PMN films made by a technique of double stage, that allows greater control in the suppression of pyrochlore phases, and by technique via Oxide Precursors Method(OPM), through a direct reaction of the oxides. PMN films were prepared on Si(100) substrates with different numbers of depositions. These films were subjected to thermal treatments between 400ºC and 800°C, in conventional oven, under different preparation conditions. The structure of the films was investigated by the technique of X-ray diffraction and the structures refinements by the Rietveld method. The results showed a coexistence of pyrochlore phase Pb1.86Mg0.24Nb1.76O6.5 and perovskite phase Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3(PMN) in the films prepared via Columbita route and suppression of pyrochlore phase in films prepared by the OPM method. A study of morphology by SEM indicated the preparation of films with good homogeneity and medium thickness of 150 nm. The results obtained in this project suggest that the stabilization of PMN phase perovkite and the suppression of the pyrochlore phase is related to a particular combination of parameters such as time and temperature of crystallization and the addition of excess of MgO and PbO in the stoichiometry.

Bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics have received significant attention recently due to their fairly high TC and good fatigue endurance which make them important candidates for non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (Fe-RAMs) as well as for the piezoelectric device applications at high temperatures. Structure of these compounds is generally described as the pseudo-perovskite block (An-1BnO3n+1)2- sandwiched between the bismuth oxide layers (Bi2O2)2+ along the c-axis, where n represents the number of corner sharing BO6 octahedra forming the perovskite-like slabs. Only a few compounds belonging to this family show relaxor behavior (frequency dependent diffuse phase transition). Relaxor ferroelectrics are very attractive for a variety of applications, such as capacitors, sensors, actuators, and integrated electromechanical systems. The present work attempts to understand the mechanism of relaxor behavior in Aurivillius oxides as well as to improve the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of some of the known phases. Details pertaining to the fabrication and characterization of BaBi4Ti4O15 (n = 4 member of Aurivillius family of oxides) ceramics are presented. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were employed to probe the structural and microstructural details. The contribution of irreversible domain wall movement to the room temperature dielectric constant and polarization was quantitatively evaluated using the nonlinear dielectric response. Dielectric dispersion and conduction mechanism of these ceramics are also explicated using the complex impedance spectroscopy. The effects of La3+ and Ca2+ doping on the phase transition behavior and other properties of BaBi4Ti4O15 are investigated. La3+ doping for Bi3+ was found to strengthen the relaxor behavior. New compounds such as CaNaBi2Nb3O12, SrNaBi2Nb3O12, Na0.5La0.5Bi4Ti4O12, etc. belonging to the Aurivillius family of oxides have been synthesized and investigations concerning their structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties are presented. Rietveld refinement of room temperature X-ray powder data suggested that CaNaBi2Nb3O12 and SrNaBi2Nb3O12crystallize in the orthorhombic space group B2cb. SrNaBi2Nb3O12 ceramics exhibited frequency-dependent Tm which follows the Vogel-Fulcher relation implying a relaxor nature. No frequency dependence of Tm was observed for CaNaBi2Nb3O12 ceramics. Polarization - electric field hysteresis loops recorded well above Tm confirmed the coexistence of polar and non-polar domains in SrNaBi2Nb3O12 ceramics. Dielectric anomaly observed around 675 K for CNBN corresponds to the ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition which is accompanied by the change in crystal structure from orthorhombic to tetragonal. Fe and Nb co-doped Bi4Ti3O12 ceramics were fabricated and characterized for their structural, electrical and magnetic properties.

Orientador: Eudes Borges de Araújo / Banca: João Carlos Silos Moraes / Banca: Adolfo Franco Júnior / Resumo: O presente trabalho descreve os estudos realizados para a síntese de filmes ferroelétricos ultrafinos de Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) e o estudo sistemático da cinética de cristalização deste material visando a obtenção de filmes monofásicos. Os filmes foram produzidos a partir da modificação de um método químico baseado em precursores óxidos. A obtenção dos filmes de PMN se deu através de uma técnica de duplo estágio, que possibilita maior controle na supressão de fases pirocloro, e da técnica via Método dos Precursores Óxidos (MPO), através da reação direta dos óxidos. Filmes de PMN foram preparados sobre substratos Si(100) com diferentes números de deposições. Esses filmes foram submetidos a tratamentos térmicos entre 400oC e 800ºC, em forno convencional, sob diferentes condições de preparo. A estrutura dos filmes foi investigada pela técnica de difração de raios-X e refinamentos da estrutura pelo método de Rietveld. Os resultados apresentaram uma coexistência da fase pirocloro Pb1.86Mg0.24Nb1.76O6.5 e da fase perovskita Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) nos filmes preparados via rota da Columbita e a supressão da fase prirocloro nos filmes preparados pelo método MPO. Um estudo da morfologia por MEV indicou a preparação de filmes com boa homogeinidade e espessura média de 150nm Os resultados obtidos neste projeto indicam que a estabilização da fase perovkita do PMN e a supressão da fase pirocloro está relacionada a uma combinação particular de parâmetros tais como tempo e temperatura de cristalização e a adição de excessos de MgO e PbO a estequiometria. / Abstract: The present work describes the studies for the synthesis of ultrathin ferroelectric films of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN) and the systematic study of the crystallization kinetics of this material aimed at obtaining singlephase films. The films were produced from the modification of a chemical method based on oxide precursors. The obtention of the PMN films made by a technique of double stage, that allows greater control in the suppression of pyrochlore phases, and by technique via Oxide Precursors Method(OPM), through a direct reaction of the oxides. PMN films were prepared on Si(100) substrates with different numbers of depositions. These films were subjected to thermal treatments between 400ºC and 800°C, in conventional oven, under different preparation conditions. The structure of the films was investigated by the technique of X-ray diffraction and the structures refinements by the Rietveld method. The results showed a coexistence of pyrochlore phase Pb1.86Mg0.24Nb1.76O6.5 and perovskite phase Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3(PMN) in the films prepared via Columbita route and suppression of pyrochlore phase in films prepared by the OPM method. A study of morphology by SEM indicated the preparation of films with good homogeneity and medium thickness of 150 nm. The results obtained in this project suggest that the stabilization of PMN phase perovkite and the suppression of the pyrochlore phase is related to a particular combination of parameters such as time and temperature of crystallization and the addition of excess of MgO and PbO in the stoichiometry. / Mestre