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Domain walls (DWs) of four typical ferroelastics, CaTiO3 (CTO), LaAlO3 (LAO), Pb3(PO4)2 (PPO), and BiVO4 (BVO), were observed by the second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, and the results were compared. The DWs of the examined ferroelastics are all polar. This fact does not depend on whether the crystal is an insulator (CTO, LAO, and PPO) or a semiconductor (BVO), on whether it has ferroelectric instability (CTO) or not (LAO, PPO, and BVO), or on the DW state, namely, whether the DW is crystallographically prominent or non-prominent. The symmetry of these DWs was determined from the SHG anisotropy, and it was clarified that they are a subgroup of the high temperature phase. In the cases of CTO and PPO, stress was applied to move the DW, and its polarity and symmetry were examined. The main characteristics did not change even when stress was applied. In all samples, uniform SHG was observed for each DW. This indicates that the DWs of the examined ferroelastics seem to be in a ferroelectric single domain state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessary conditions for nondestructive and three-dimensional (3D) observations of inverted polar domain structures using the second-harmonic generation interference microscope (SHGIM) are examined experimentally and theoretically using MgO doped congruent LiNbO3 and periodically poled (PP) MgO doped near stoichiometrical LiNbO3. The results can be explained well by the Boyd and Kleinman theory of strongly focused optical systems. To obtain clear 3D images of domain structures by SHGIM, the sign of the wave number Δk offset of the fundamental and SH waves should be negative and the SHG tensor components d31 should be used for both samples when they are observed with a wavelength of 1064 nm at room temperature. Under these conditions, 3D PP domain structures are clearly revealed by SHGIM. General conditions for the 3D visualization of polar domain structures are discussed for the cases of sum-frequency and difference-frequency generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PbZr1-xTixO3, which has abundant structural variations in the corresponding physical properties, has been used in a large variety of applications. To understand the effect of the structure on its high-performance piezoelectric properties, its local and average structures are studied. Total scattering data have been obtained from high-energy synchrotron powder diffraction experiments at 20 K and 300 K. Using the reverse Monte Carlo method, information on cation displacements has been extracted from X-ray Pair Distribution Function data. This suggests that the local disorder of the B cations is mainly driven by thermal motion, while the local disorder of Pb is most likely caused by more complex factors, such as displacive disorder. Both rhombohedral and monoclinic local polarizations are observed in Zr-rich PZT, whose directions depend on temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anisotropy of the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) in a multiferroic BiFeO3 single crystal is observed by an SHG microscope. Polarization dependences of SH intensities are measured in several polarization configurations of the incident and SH waves to determine the magnitude and sign of polar i-type SHG tensor components. To obtain proper values of these SHG tensors, the effects of the interference term and wave number mismatch are taken into account in these analyses. d24 component is 15 times larger than d32 and this result is essentially different from the thin film case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second harmonic generation interference tomography which enables us to obtain three-dimensional images of ferroelectric antiparallel domain structures is devised. Periodically poled domains (PPDs) inside a LiTaO3 quasiphase matching crystal (QPM) are observed by this microscope. Section images perpendicular to the polar z axis show that the PPD structure is maintained throughout the top quarter of the sample but it starts to lose the periodic nature in the bottom half of the sample. Corresponding degradation of the QPM performance is observed along the z direction of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PbZr1-xTixO3, which has abundant structural variations in the corresponding physical properties, has been used in a large variety of applications. To understand the effect of the structure on its high-performance piezoelectric properties, its local and average structures are studied. Total scattering data have been obtained from high-energy synchrotron powder diffraction experiments at 20 K and 300 K. Using the reverse Monte Carlo method, information on cation displacements has been extracted from X-ray Pair Distribution Function data. This suggests that the local disorder of the B cations is mainly driven by thermal motion, while the local disorder of Pb is most likely caused by more complex factors, such as displacive disorder. Both rhombohedral and monoclinic local polarizations are observed in Zr-rich PZT, whose directions depend on temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]