The effect of APC/YBCO interface on the angular range of effective pinning by one-dimensional artificial pinning centers in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x nanocomposite films
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Abstract The switching characteristics of ferroelectrics and multiferroics are influenced by the interaction of topological defects with domain walls. We report on the pinning of polarization due to antiphase boundaries in thin films of the multiferroic hexagonal YbFeO3. We have directly resolved the atomic structure of a sharp antiphase boundary (APB) in YbFeO3thin films using a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and total energy calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT). We find the presence of a layer of FeO6octahedra at the APB that bridges the adjacent domains. STEM imaging shows a reversal in the direction of polarization on moving across the APB, which DFT calculations confirm is structural in nature as the polarization reversal reduces the distortion of the FeO6octahedral layer at the APB. Such APBs in hexagonal perovskites are expected to serve as domain-wall pinning sites and hinder ferroelectric switching of the domains.more » « less
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Abstract Two different types of monoclinic HfO 2 nanocrystals were employed in this work to study the effect of nanocrystal shape and crystallinity on the structural defects in the YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) matrix as it leads to an enhancement of pinning performances of solution-derived YBCO nanocomposite films. In this work the nanorod-like HfO 2 nanocrystals obtained from surfactant-controlled synthesis led to short intergrowths surrounding the particles, while spherical HfO 2 nanocrystals from the solvent-controlled synthesis led to the formation of long stacking faults in the YBCO matrix. It means that the small difference in crystallinity, lattice parameters, nanocrystal structures, core diameter of preformed nanocrystals in colloidal solutions have a strong influence on the formation of the structural defects around the particles in the YBCO matrix, leading to different pinning performances.more » « less
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