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The aging effect and the metastable ferroelectric state are investigated in the Ba4Eu2(Ti0.9Zr0.1)4Ta6O30 ceramic, where the tetragonal tungsten bronze structure with a P4bm space group is confirmed. When the compound is cooled from temperatures far above its transition temperature (TC), a very slim polarization-electric field curve is observed at 300 K. After 3 days of aging at 300 K, an obvious increase in the remanent polarization and the coercive electric field can be obtained. Moreover, a gradual recovery of the endothermic peak is detected in the differential scanning calorimeter curves when the compound is cooled from temperatures above TC and aged at 300 K for several days. These phenomena are interpreted as the result of a metastable ferroelectric state and the related aging effect, which may be deeply concerned with the compositional inhomogeneity and the hindered superstructure transformation. Through manipulating A and B site cation substitutions, the range of the metastable ferroelectric state can be tuned, and compounds with a different ferroelectric transition process can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth ion (RE)-substitution has been recognized as an effective way for improving multiferroic properties especially for realizing the electric field-controlled magnetism in BiFeO3 ceramics, where the symmetry modulation of R3c-Pna21-Pbnm and unlocking ferromagnetism by destroying the cycloidal spin structure are the key points. In Lu-substituted BiFeO3 ceramics, however, the Pna21 phase is not involved. In the present work, La/Lu co-substitution was investigated to involve the Pna21 phase in BiFeO3 ceramics. The phase transition from R3c to Pna21 occurred with an increase in x, and the mixed structure of R3c, Pna21, and Pbnm phases was determined in Bi0.82−xLaxLu0.18FeO3 ceramics. The greatly enhanced ferroelectric polarization and the switching from antiferromagnetic to the weak ferromagnetic state through the destruction of the cycloidal spin structure were achieved. Subsequently, the direct magnetoelectric coupling coefficient αME up to 2.02 mV/cm Oe was obtained. The increased effective ionic radius of RE in the present ceramics played a key role in involving Pna21 phase in RE-substituted BiFeO3 ceramics, and the critical value was about 0.104 23(2) nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the structure evidence of the Pna21 phase and the field-induced transition of Pna21/R3c have been quantitatively investigated in Bi1-xSmxFe0.99Ti0.01O3 (x = 0.12, 0.14, and 0.16) ceramics together with the subsequent electric field-controlled magnetism. A sequential phase transition of R3c-Pna21-Pbnm is detected by Rietveld refinement of the x-ray diffraction data. Further, the electric field-induced phase transition is investigated near the morphotropic phase boundary at x = 0.14, where the structure is tuned from Pna21 to R3c with poling treatment, and this transition could become reversible with as-annealing after poling. For x = 0.14, the structure is tuned from Pna21 to R3c with poling treatment, and this transition could become reversible with as-annealing after poling. The phase transition is confirmed by Rietveld refinements together with VSM measurements, providing an opportunity for electric field-controlled magnetism. The magnetoelectric coupling is enhanced, and the linear magnetoelectric coefficient αME up to 0.91 mV/Oe·cm is obtained in Bi1-xSmxFe0.99Ti0.01O3 ceramics. More importantly, the R3c and Pna21 structures are confirmed by selected area electron diffraction and dark-field analysis at x = 0.14, and the high-resolution TEM image demonstrates the coexistence of the R3c and Pna21 structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials have shown promise in electronics and optoelectronics applications. Most of their properties are closely related to their abundant structural phases and phase transitions. For more practical applications in the future, it is necessary to tune the phase transitions in this material system. Here, we demonstrate the modulation of phase transitions in miscible WxMo1-xTe2 samples by appropriate alloying. The temperature dependent thermal conductivity along the c-axis, which strongly relates to the phase structures and the defect level, has been measured using the time-domain thermoreflectance method. In addition, a tunable hysteretic effect, induced by phase transitions, is observed in both thermal and electrical transport properties and confirmed by the consistent hysteresis in the Raman spectroscopic study. This hysteretic effect can be applied to realize phase-change storage devices. Furthermore, we provide a phase diagram to illustrate the composition dependent phase transition in WxMo1-xTe2. This work demonstrates an approach to modulate phase transition and thermal hysteresis in such a TMD material system by alloying engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured the radio-frequency reflection spectrum of an on-chip reflection line resonator coupled to a graphene double quantum dot (DQD), which was etched almost isolated from the reservoir and reached the low tunnel rate region. The charge stability diagram of DQD was investigated via dispersive phase and magnitude shift of the resonator with a high quality factor. Its complex admittance and low tunnel rate to the reservoir was also determined from the reflected signal of the on-chip resonator. Our method may provide a non-invasive and sensitive way of charge state readout in isolated quantum dots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]