Artificial Control of Order Degree State of B-Site Ions in Ba(Zr,Ti)O3 by a Superlattice Technique

Abstract

Artificial control for arranging the B-site ion has been demonstrated by superlattices to elucidate relaxor behavior. The relaxor behavior of ferroelectric material depends on order state of the constructing ion in the crystal. To clarify the mechanism of this relaxor behavior, Ba(Zr,Ti)O3 is chosen as the target material because its B-site ions are not naturally ordered. The superlattice samples were prepared by using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Observed X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the superlattices and their theoretical calculation revealed that the degree of order state was well controlled by our technique. The relaxor behavior occurs in the order degree (OD) ratio below -25% indicating that the OD is a key function for determining the origin of the relaxor behavior.