arXiv subjects

I. Rychetsky

Publications and source records attributed to I. Rychetsky.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ferroelastic domain wall motion and collective domain switching in RbSCN

Low frequency (0.05 - 40 Hz) dynamic elastic measurements and resonant ultrasound spectroscopy measurements (100-600 kHz) of RbSCN have been performed in the temperature region of the order-disorder improper ferroelastic phase transition at T$_c \approx$ 435~K. Quite similar to KSCN, the low frequency data show - in addition to the intrinsic phase transition anomalies - superelastic softening in a- and b-directions, resulting from movements of ferroelastic domain walls under dynamic stress. However, in contrast to KSCN, a sudden discontinuous increase of Young's modulus appears in RbSCN at { T$^{\ast} < T_c $}, which is accompanied by a frequency dependent damping peak. This behaviour is reminiscent of a first order phase transition.\\ Heating RbSCN slightly above T$^{\ast}$, followed by subseqent cooling, removes all {signs of domain wall dynamics}. The results demonstrate, that the anomalies in RbSCN around $T^{\ast}$ result from collective domain switching events that are induced when the {temperature dependent critical pinning stress, $\sigma_c(T)$ falls below the applied external stress $\sigma$, implying that $T^{\ast}(\sigma=\sigma_c)$. This interpretation is supported by calculations of the temperature dependences of twin boundary widths $w$ and energies $F_w$, as well as the Peierls potential $V_0$ using a compressible pseudospin model, which leads to a critical pinning stress, $\sigma_c(T)$ that is in excellent agreement with experimental values of $T^{\ast}(\sigma_c)$. }

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Electromechanical properties of the 180{\deg} domain wall in PbTiO3

We analyze the electromechanical response of the 180 degree ferroelectric domain wall in tetragonal PbTiO3 by combining first-principles calculations with a Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire (LGD) description. Using regular multidomain structures with varying domain-wall density, we extract polarization profiles and lattice distortions and map them onto the continuum model to determine conventional (homogeneous) and gradient (inhomogeneous) electrostriction. Conventional electrostriction yields only a small negative length change of the sample, whereas gradient electrostriction--arising from the coupling between strain and polarization gradients--produces a positive contribution nearly an order of magnitude larger and localized at the wall core. Our results demonstrate that gradient electrostriction dominates the electromechanical response of 180 degree walls in PbTiO3, supporting its inclusion in LGD models that stabilize Bloch-type domain wall structures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Polar phase transition in $180^{\circ}$-domain wall of lead titanate

A new mechanism leading to a switchable polarization in a ferroelectric domain wall (DW) is proposed. A biquadratic coupling of the primary order parameter and its gradient triggers the phase transition in the DW with softening of the local polar mode and anomalous increase of the susceptibility at the phase transition temperature $T_{DW}$. This mechanism describes the origin and properties of the polar Bloch and antipolar N\'eel components in the $180^\circ$-DW of PbTiO$_3$, which were recently reported from first-principles calculations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

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↗

arXiv2010

Domain walls of ferroelectric BaTiO3 within the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire phenomenological model

Mechanically compatible and electrically neutral domain walls in tetragonal, orthorhombic and rhombohedral ferroelectric phases of BaTiO3 are systematically investigated in the framework of the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire (GLD) model with parameters of Ref. [Hlinka and Marton, Phys. Rev. 74, 104104 (2006)]. Polarization and strain profiles within domain walls are calculated numerically and within an approximation leading to the quasi-one-dimensional analytic solutions applied previously to the ferroelectric walls of the tetragonal phase [W. Cao and L.E. Cross, Phys. Rev. 44, 5 (1991)]. Domain wall thicknesses and energy densities are estimated for all mechanically compatible and electrically neutral domain wall species in the entire temperature range of ferroelectric phases. The model suggests that the lowest energy walls in the orthorhombic phase of BaTiO3 are the 90-degree and 60-degree walls. In the rhombohedral phase, the lowest energy walls are the 71-degree and 109-degree walls. All these ferroelastic walls have thickness below 1 nm except for the 90-degree wall in the tetragonal phase and the 60-degree S-wall in the orthorhombic phase, for which the larger thickness of the order of 5 nm was found. The antiparallel walls of the rhombohedral phase have largest energy and thus they are unlikely to occur. The calculation indicates that the lowest energy structure of the 109-degree wall and few other domain walls in the orthorhombic and rhombohedral phases resemble Bloch-like walls known from magnetism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗