Yoichiro Ogata

Refinement of crystal structural parameters and charge density using convergent-beam electron diffraction – the rhombohedral phase of LaCrO3

Atom positions and anisotropic Debye–Waller factors of the rhombohedral phase of LaCrO3 have been refined simultaneously with the low-order structure factors, using a structure-analysis method of convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) proposed by Tsuda & Tanaka [Acta Cryst. (1999), A55, 939–954]. The method is based on the least-squares fitting between full dynamical calculations and energy-filtered intensities of two-dimensional higher-order Laue-zone (HOLZ) and zeroth-order Laue-zone (ZOLZ) CBED patterns. The positions of the oxygen atoms have been determined with a high precision. Clear anisotropy of the thermal vibrations of the oxygen atoms has been successfully determined by the CBED method for the first time. The charge transfer from the La and Cr atoms to the O atoms has been found from the deformation charge-density map.

Refinement of the crystal structural parameters of the intermediate phase of h-BaTiO3 using convergent-beam electron diffraction

Crystal structural parameters (21 positional parameters and nine isotropic Debye-Waller factors) of the intermediate phase of hexagonal barium titanate (h-BaTiO3) have been refined by a structure analysis method using convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED); this method was developed by Tsuda & Tanaka [Acta Cryst. (1999), A55, 939-954]. In order to perform the analysis, a parallel computation using a computer cluster composed of 16 connected Pentium 4 PCs was introduced. A function of parallel computation has been implemented in our analysis software, MBFIT, with the aid of the Message Passing Interface (MPI). Parallel computation enabled the present refinement to be conducted using a [001] CBED pattern and a [010] CBED pattern simultaneously. Reliable errors for the refined structural parameters have been obtained from the analyses of four independent experimental data sets instead of using the errors obtained by the error-propagation rule of least-squares fitting. The parameters obtained have been found to agree well with those determined by a neutron Rietveld analysis.

Determination of the electrostatic potential and electron density of silicon using convergent-beam electron diffraction

A structure-analysis method using convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) developed by Tsuda et al. [Tsuda & Tanaka (1999), Acta Cryst. A55, 939-954; Tsuda, Ogata, Takagi, Hashimoto & Tanaka (2002), Acta Cryst. A58, 514-525] has been applied to the determination of the electrostatic potential and electron density of crystalline silicon. CBED patterns recorded at nine different incidences are simultaneously used to improve the accuracy of the refinement. The Debye-Waller factor and low-order structure factors of silicon have been successfully refined only using CBED data. The electrostatic potential and electron-density distribution have been reconstructed from the refined parameters. The latter clearly shows the bonding electrons between the nearest neighbor atoms. The obtained results are compared with the results of other CBED and recent X-ray diffraction experiments. The influence of the number of refined low-order structure factors on the electron density is discussed. The effect of the reduction of experimental data points on the accuracy of the refined parameters is also examined.

Space Group Determination of Al2(WO4)3 using Convergent-Beam Electron Diffraction

The space-group symmetries of a negative thermal expansion material Al2(WO4)3 that undergoes a structural phase transformation at Tc=-22 °C have been investigated using convergent-beam electron diffraction. It has been confirmed that the space group of the room-temperature phase of Al2(WO4)3, which shows slightly negative thermal expansion, is orthorhombic Pbcn (No. 60). The space group of the low-temperature phase of Al2(WO4)3, which shows positive thermal expansion, has been determined to be monoclinic P1121/n (No. 14) with the lattice of am=ao-bo, bm=2bo, and cm=co.

X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of molybdenum added to BaTiO3-based ceramics used for multilayer ceramic capacitors

The effect of slight molybdenum doping of perovskite-type BaTiO3-based ceramics on the reliability of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) and on the valence state of molybdenum in the BaTiO3-based ceramics has been investigated by highly accelerated lifetime tests and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. The molybdenum added to the BaTiO3-based ceramics is located at Ti sites and improves the highly accelerated lifetime and lowers the initial dielectric resistivity in MLCCs. Through sintering in a reducing atmosphere, which is an important process in the fabrication of BaTiO3-based MLCCs, the oxidation state of the molybdenum added could be adjusted from +6 to a value close to +4.

Refinement of crystal structural parameters and charge density using convergent-beam electron diffraction

Atom positions and anisotropic Debye-Waller factors of the rhombohedral phase of LaCrO(3) have been refined simultaneously with the low-order structure factors, using a structure-analysis method of convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) proposed by Tsuda & Tanaka [Acta Cryst. (1999), A55, 939-954]. The method is based on the least-squares fitting between full dynamical calculations and energy-filtered intensities of two-dimensional higher-order Laue-zone (HOLZ) and zeroth-order Laue-zone (ZOLZ) CBED patterns. The positions of the oxygen atoms have been determined with a high precision. Clear anisotropy of the thermal vibrations of the oxygen atoms has been successfully determined by the CBED method for the first time. The charge transfer from the La and Cr atoms to the O atoms has been found from the deformation charge-density map.