Amin Yourdkhani

Ferroelectric order in individual nanometre-scale crystals

Ferroelectricity in finite-dimensional systems continues to arouse interest, motivated by predictions of vortex polarization states and the utility of ferroelectric nanomaterials in memory devices, actuators and other applications. Critical to these areas of research are the nanoscale polarization structure and scaling limit of ferroelectric order, which are determined here in individual nanocrystals comprising a single ferroelectric domain. Maps of ferroelectric structural distortions obtained from aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, combined with holographic polarization imaging, indicate the persistence of a linearly ordered and monodomain polarization state at nanometre dimensions. Room-temperature polarization switching is demonstrated down to ~5 nm dimensions. Ferroelectric coherence is facilitated in part by control of particle morphology, which along with electrostatic boundary conditions is found to determine the spatial extent of cooperative ferroelectric distortions. This work points the way to multi-Tbit/in(2) memories and provides a glimpse of the structural and electrical manifestations of ferroelectricity down to its ultimate limits.

Probing the local strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic nanocomposites by magnetic field-assisted piezoresponse force microscopy

The magnetoelectric effect that occurs in multiferroic materials is fully described by the magnetoelectric coupling coefficient induced either electrically or magnetically. This is rather well understood in bulk multiferroics, but it is not known whether the magnetoelectric coupling properties are retained at nanometre length scales in nanostructured multiferroics. The main challenges are related to measurement difficulties of the coupling at nanoscale, as well as the fabrication of suitable nano-multiferroic samples. Addressing these issues is an important prerequisite for the implementation of multiferroics in future nanoscale devices and sensors. In this paper we report on the local measurement of the magnetoelectric coefficient in bilayered ceramic nanocomposites from the variation in the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient of the electrostrictive layer in the presence of a magnetic field. The experimental data were analyzed using a theoretical relationship linking the piezoelectric coefficient to the magneto-electric coupling coefficient. Our results confirm the presence of a measurable magnetoelectric coupling in bilayered nanocomposites constructed by a perovskite as the electrostrictive phase and two different ferrites (cubic spinel and hexagonal) as the magnetic phases. The reported experimental values as well as our theoretical approach are both in good agreement with previously published data for bulk and nanostructure magnetoelectric multiferroics.

Synthesis and piezoelectric response of cubic and spherical LiNbO3 nanocrystals

Methods have been developed for the shape-selective synthesis of ferroelectric LiNbO3 nanoparticles. Decomposition of the single-source precursor, LiNb(O-Et)6, in the absence of surfactants, can reproducibly lead to either cube- or sphere-like nanoparticles. X-Ray diffraction shows that the LiNbO3 nanoparticles are rhombohedral (R3c). Sample properties were examined by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and Raman where both sets of nanoparticles exhibit ferroelectricity. The longitudinal piezoelectric coefficients, d33, varied with shape where the largest value was exhibited in the nanocubes (17 pm V−1 for the cubes versus 12 pm V−1 for spheres).

Highly ordered transition metal ferrite nanotube arrays synthesized by template-assisted liquid phase deposition

Highly ordered spinel ferrite MxFe3−xO4 (M = Ni, Co, Zn) nanotube arrays were synthesized in anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) templates with a pore size of 200 nm by combining a liquid phase deposition (LPD) method with a template-assisted route. The morphology of the transition metal ferrite nanotubes was characterized by electron microscopy (FE-SEM; TEM, SAED and HRTEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), whereas their chemical composition was determined by inductive coupling plasma (ICP). The phase purity was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the magnetic properties of the nanotubes were measured by SQUID measurements. Unlike the deposition of thin film structures, nanotube arrays form within the pores of the AAO templates in a much shorter time due to the attractive interactions between the positively charged AAO and the negatively charged metal complex species formed in the treatment solution. The as-deposited nanotubes are amorphous in nature and can be converted into polycrystalline metal ferrites via a post-synthesis heat treatment which induce the dehydroxylation, crystallization and formation of the spinel structure. The resulting nanotubes are uniform with smooth surfaces and open ends and their wall thickness can be varied from 4 to 26 nm by increasing the deposition time from 1 to 4 h. Significant differences in the magnetic properties of the ferrite nanotubes have been observed and these differences seem to result from the chemical composition, the wall thickness and the annealing temperature of the spinel ferrite nanotubes.

Tuning the Thermal Relaxation of Transition-Metal Ferrite Nanoparticles Through Their Intrinsic Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy

Monodispersed ferrite nanoparticles of Fe3O4, MnFe2O4, and CoFe2O4 (near to 10 nm), were synthesized by organometallic synthesis, showing the same homogeneous chemical, morphological, and crystalline characteristics. The study and correlation of the thermal relaxation processes were analyzed through static and dynamic measurements. Due to the intrinsic chemical characteristics and magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ferrite nanoparticles, the energy barrier can be tuned to a range between 1100 K ≤ EB ≤ 7300 K, showing an alternative approach for tuning the magnetic dynamic properties, in contrast to the well-known mechanism through particle-size-effects. Specific loss power efficiencies were evaluated for the three ferrite samples. Comparing the three samples at the maximum ac frequency of ν = 10 kHz, MnFe2O4 exhibits the single-peak maximum of loss with the value of 273 erg/s · g at T = 65 K, whereas for the CoFe2O4, a maximum of 132 erg/s · g (T = 217 K) was determined. A considerable drop in the effic...

Magnetic Field-Assisted Piezoelectric Force Microscopy Investigation of PbTiO

The magnetoelectric coupling in a bilayered composite consisting of a polycrystalline PbTiO3 and an amorphous TbDyFe layer was investigated by magnetic field-assisted piezoelectric force microscopy. Both the phase and the amplitude components of the piezoelectric signal undergo substantial changes upon applying an in-plane magnetic field, demonstrating the existence of a magnetoelectric coupling between the magnetic and electrostrictive layers. Consequently, the values of the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient were found to decrease from 28.3 to 8.71 pm/V with increasing the magnetic field from 0 to 2 kOe.

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The present work is aimed at fabricating bi-layer aluminum nitride (AlN)/cobalt iron (CoFe) magnetoelectric (ME) thin films using reactive rf/dc magnetron sputtering. A systematic study on structural, morphological, piezoelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties is undertaken. Except for AlN and CoFe, no other phases were detected with the layer thicknesses measured at 160 and 130 nm, respectively. The rms roughness measured was around 2.096 nm for AlN and 1.806 nm for CoFe. The bi-layer thin film exhibited both good piezoelectricity and ferromagnetism, as well as ME effect. A 52% change observed in the piezoelectric signal, measured using magnetic field assisted piezoresponse force microscopy, can be ascribed to the existence of a stress-mediated magnetoelectric coupling between AlN and CoFe.

–TbDyFe Bilayered Nanocomposites

In this paper we present a study of superparamagnetic and superspin glass states of magnetic nanoparticles confined in mesoporous templates. Characterization utilizes dynamic magnetization techniques, ac susceptibility, and ferromagnetic resonance, in addition to dc magnetization curves. In order to differentiate between the intrinsic and collective properties, we considered three magnetic nanoparticles systems with comparable size, shape, and crystallinity but with different intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Further, confinement effects were studied by considering three different geometries of nanoparticles. The effect of the geometrical confinement and intrinsic anisotropy of the nanoparticles are discussed based on known theoretical predictions.