Ferroelectric Materials: Nanoscale Atomic Displacements Ordering for Enhanced Piezoelectric Properties in Lead‐Free ABO3 Ferroelectrics (Adv. Mater. 29/2015)

Abstract

Nanoscale ordering of atomic displacements is demonstrated as an effective parameter for enhancing piezoelectric susceptibility in lead-free ferroelectrics by A. Pramanick and co-workers on page 4330. The increased degree of ordering for atomic displacements under an electric field is revealed by synchrotron X-ray diffuse scattering measurements (shown in the background). As a result of this ordering, the instability of the lattice toward mechanical deformation is increased, as shown by inelastic neutron scattering measurements of acoustic phonons, which are depicted as propagating vibrations across the atoms in the lattice.