Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:15:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5887.pdf: 17427536 bytes, checksum: 86a72410b26eb5474b5d0a693e193449 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-19 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Multiferroic are materials which have at least two of the three ferroics orders: ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity and/or ferroelasticity. The coupling between these properties, make multiferroic materials of great technological and scientific interest, mainly in the design of new devices such as sensors and spintronic devices. The lead iron tungstate Pb(Fe2=3W1=3)O3 (PFW) is a relaxor multiferroic with ferroelectric transition TC ~ 180K and antiferromagnetic TN ~ 340K, it is a member of the relaxor ferroelectrics family with perovskite structure, in which the two types of cations (Fe3+ e W6+) are randomly distributed in the B site, causing the formation of polar nanoregions (or clusters) of order/disorder at microscopic scale, which would be the origin of the relaxor behavior. Lead iron niobate Pb(Fe1=2Nb1=2)O3 (PFN) is a ferroelectric with diffuse phase transition (DPT) around TC ~ 380K and antiferromagnetic, with the G-type ordering below the Néel temperature, reported in TN ~ 143K. This material has a high dielectric constant, and excellent ferroelectric properties. The Pb2+, at site A, and Nb5+, at site B are responsible for the ferroelectric order, as the Fe3+ at site B is responsible to provide the necessary magnetic moment for the magnetic ordering. In this work, the electrical conduction and relaxation mechanism of multiferroics PFW and PFN ceramics were investigated. The PFW and PFN samples were prepared by solid state reaction method through two stages. This method was effective to obtain samples with majoritary perovskite phase (95,6% and 95,7%), respectively. After the densification process through sintering methods used in this work (conventional sintering, hot pressing and spark plasma), the perovskite phase was increased, being almost 100 %. The samples of PFW and PFN obtained by the different densification techniques, were dense and practically free of pores. For the analysis of the dielectric response of the samples, it was proposed in this work, an analysis protocol, which was effective to find the responsible mechanisms for the dielectric response of the studied materials. Two relaxation processes were identified for each studied sample, which were labeled as: PR-1, PR-2 or PR *. These processes can be attributed to the interfacial polarization and polarization by hopping, occurring due to the presence of defects in the lattice, such as the oxygen vacancies and lead vacancies. From the dependence of the DC electrical conductivity versus temperature, it was possible to identify regions with different mechanisms of electrical conduction for the samples of PFW and PFN. These mechanisms are, thermally activated at high temperatures, hopping of small polarons at intermediate temperatures and variable range hopping at low temperatures. / Multiferróicos são materiais que têm pelo menos duas das três ordens ferróicas: ferromagnetismo, ferroeletricidade e/ou ferroelasticidade. O acoplamento entre essas propriedades, faz com que os materiais multiferróicos despertem um grande interesse científico e tecnológico, principalmente na concepção de novos dispositivos, como sensores e dispositivos de spintrônica. O tungstanato de ferro e chumbo Pb(Fe2=3W1=3)O3 (PFW) é um multiferróico relaxor com transição ferroelétrica TC ~ 180K e antiferromagnética TN ~ 340K, ele é membro da família dos ferroelétricos relaxores com uma estrutura perovskita, em que os dois tipos de cátions (Fe3+ e W6+) são aleatoriamente distribuídos no sítio B, fazendo com que em escala microscópica existam nanoregiões polares (ou clusters) de ordem/desordem neste sítio, que seriam a origem do comportamento relaxor. O niobato de ferro e chumbo Pb(Fe1=2Nb1=2)O3 (PFN) é um ferroelétrico com transição de fase difusa (TFD) ao redor de TC ~ 380K, e antiferromagnético, com ordenamento do tipo-G abaixo da temperatura de Néel reportada em TN ~ 143K. Ele ainda apresenta uma alta constante dielétrica, além de excelentes propriedades ferroelétricas. Neste material o Pb2+, no sítio A, e Nb5+, no sítio B são responsáveis pelo ordenamento ferroelétrico, enquanto o Fe3+ no sítio B é responsável em fornecer o momento magnético necessário para o ordenamento magnético. Neste trabalho, os mecanismos de condução e relaxação elétrica das cerâmicas multiferróicas de PFW e PFN foram investigados. As amostras de PFW e PFN foram preparadas por reação de estado sólido através do método de dois estágios, que se mostrou eficaz na obtenção de amostras com fase perovskita majoritaria (95,6% e 95,7%), respectivamente. De modo geral, essas amostras ao passar pelo processo de densificação através dos métodos de sinterização utilizados nesse trabalho (sinterização convencional, sinterização por prensagem uniaxial a quente e sinterização por spark plasma), tiveram suas fases perovskitas majoritarias aumentadas, chegando à praticamente 100%. As amostras de PFW e PFN, obtidas pelas diferentes técnicas de densificação, mostraram-se densas e praticamente livres de poros. Para análise da resposta dielétrica apresentada por essas amostras, foi proposto neste trabalho um protocolo de análise, que se mostrou eficaz em descrever o comportamento da resposta dielétrica apresentado pelas mesmas. Foram identificados dois processos de relaxação para cada amostra em estudo, os quais foram identificados por: PR-1, PR-2 ou PR*. Esses processos podem ser atribuídos à polarização interfacial e à polarização por salto, os quais ocorrem pela presença de defeitos na rede, tais como, as vacâncias de oxigênio e as vacâncias de chumbo. Através da dependência da condutividade elétrica DC em função da temperatura, foi possível identificar regiões com diferentes mecanismos de condução para as amostras de PFW e PFN. Dentre eles estão, ativação térmica em altas temperaturas, hopping de pequenos polarons em temperaturas intermediárias e hopping de alcance variável em baixas temperaturas.

Ternary chalcopyrite compounds are the semiconductors with suitable properties to be used as absorber materials in thin film solar cells. AgInSe2 is a promising candidate with its several advantages over the widely used CuInSe2. The purpose of this study was to optimize the physical properties of the Ag-In-Se (AIS) thin films that were deposited by e-beam evaporation of Ag3In5Se9 single crystal powder for solar cell applications by means of post-annealing process under nitrogen atmosphere. The as-grown AIS thin films were annealed at 200, 300 and 400oC and their structural, optical, electrical and photoelectrical properties were examined to observe the effects of post-annealing process. Structural characterization of the films was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. Optical properties of the films were investigated by optical transmittance measurements. Electrical and photoelectrical properties of the films were examined by temperature dependent conductivity, photoconductivity under different illumination intensities and spectral photoresponse measurements. It was discovered that the annealing of AIS thin films at 200oC resulted in the best physical properties for solar cell applications. The obtained films were polycrystalline with mixed binary and ternary crystalline phases, such as Ag3In5Se9, AgInSe2 and InSe, and showed n-type conductivity with room temperature conductivity value of 2.3x10-6 (Ohm&shy / cm)-1. The band gap energy of the 200oC-annealed films was determined as 1.68 eV from spectral photoresponse measurements. The results of the study revealed that the inadequate Ag incorporation and segregation and/or reevaporation of Se atoms at high annealing temperatures were the major problems encountered in producing single phase polycrystalline AgInSe2 thin films. The required stoichiometry of thin films should be maintained during the growth of the films by means of an alternative deposition procedure and the films should be selenized during post-annealing process.