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Thin-film ferroelectric doped hafnia has emerged as a promising candidate for non-volatile computer memory devices due to its CMOS compatibility. The ferroelectricity in thin-film HfO2 is defined by the polar orthorhombic phase, whose stabilization depends on various parameters, such as doping species, stress, thickness, crystallization annealing temperature, etc. The concentration of oxygen vacancies is yet another parameter affecting the stabilization of the ferroelectric phase in HfO2 thin films. Here, we report on the effect of oxygen vacancies introduced in Y-doped HfO2 (HYO) films during reactive pulsed laser deposition on their ferroelectric properties, which we systematically study by correlating structural and electrical properties. Among different techniques, near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure analysis is successfully employed to distinguish between structurally similar ferroelectric orthorhombic and paraelectric tetragonal phases. It is shown that oxygen vacancies introduced at a certain concentration in HYO films can be used as a tool to control the phase composition as well as to decrease the formation energy (crystallization temperature) of the ferroelectric phase. Based on these results, we demonstrate a back-end-of-line compatible ferroelectric HYO capacitor device with competitive functional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of Yb3+ cations substitution for Pr3+ on the structure and catalytic activity of (Pr1−xYbx)2Zr2O7 powders synthesized via coprecipitation followed by calcination is studied using a combination of long- (s-XRD), medium- (Raman, FT-IR, and SEM-EDS) and short-range (XAFS) sensitive methods, as well as adsorption and catalytic techniques. It is established that chemical composition and calcination temperature are the two major factors that govern the phase composition, crystallographic, and local-structure parameters of these polycrystalline materials. The crystallographic and local-structure parameters of (Pr1−xYbx)2Zr2O7 samples prepared at 1400 °C/3 h demonstrate a tight correlation with their catalytic activity towards propane cracking. The progressive replacement of Pr3+ with Yb3+ cations gives rise to an increase in the catalytic activity. A mechanism of the catalytic cracking of propane is proposed, which considers the geometrical match between the metal–oxygen (Pr–O, Yb–O, and Zr–O) bond lengths within the active sites and the size of adsorbed propane molecule to be the decisive factor governing the reaction route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of synthesis conditions on the features of the long- and short-range order of Ln 2 (WO 4 ) 3 (Ln = Gd, Dy, Ho, Yb) powders synthesized via coprecipitation of salts has been studied by a complex of physico-chemical techniques including synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and simultaneous thermal analysis. It was found that crystallization of amorphous precursors begins at 600 °C/3 h and leads to the formation of the monoclinic structure with sp. gr. C12/c1(15) for Ln 2 (WO 4 ) 3 (Ln = Gd, Dy) and with sp. gr. P12 1 /a1(14) for Ln = Yb, whereas crystallization of Ho precursor requires even higher temperature. After annealing at 1000 °C, the P12 1 /a1(14) phase becomes the dominant phase component for all heavy lanthanoid types except for Ln = Gd. It was shown that the Ln (Ln = Dy, Ho, and Yb) tungstates with the P12 1 /a1(14) monoclinic structure correspond to trihydrates Ln 2 (WO 4 ) 3 ·3H 2 O formed due to a rapid spontaneous hydration under ambient conditions. It was concluded that the proneness to hydration is due to a specific structure of the P12 1 /a1(14) phase with large voids available to water molecules. Modifications in the local structure of Ln-O coordination shell accompanying the structure type change and hydration are monitored using EXAFS spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]