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Effects of rare earth dopants on the EO properties and domain configurations in PMN-PT transparent ceramics

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Abstract

To comprehend the relationship between the dopants, structure, and properties of EO materials, transparent ceramics of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 doped with rare earth (RE) ions (Er3+, Eu3+, La3+, and Sm3+) were prepared via pressure-free sintering. The transmittance of completely dense and pore-free La-doped PMN-PT ceramics is significantly better than that of the other RE-doped PMN-PT. The optimal composition of 2-mol% La-doped 0.75PMN-0.25PT has the largest electro-optical (EO) coefficient of 42.1 × 10−16 m2·V−2 and highest transmittance of 69% in the near-infrared band, which exceeds the performance of the vast majority of PMN-PT ceramics reported in the past. As the dopants vary among Er3+, Eu3+, La3+, and Sm3+, the polar domain distribution undergoes a disorder–order–disorder transformation. The study investigated the effects of various dopants on the microstructure, transmittance, EO properties, domain structure, and polarization behavior of PMN-PT ceramics. On the macroscopic polarization scale, the exceptional EO performance observed in the La-doped PMN-PT ceramics is due to the presence of an ordered lamellar polar nanodomain structure, which facilitates easier and faster polarization switching. On the atomic-level scale in relation to the dopants, the largest ionic radii and tolerance factor with moderate electronegativity for La-doped case is believed to be favorable for the highest EO effect. These results suggest that a defect-engineered well-ordered distribution of polar nanoregions could enhance the EO effect. Overall, our research provides valuable insights for the design of high-performance EO materials based on domain configuration and doping engineering.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Analytical and Testing Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) for providing the SEM, PFM, and XRD measurements.

Funding

The authors have received research support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61971459, 52202134), the Fund from Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (Grant No. JCYJ20190809095009521), and the Innovation Team Program of Hubei Province, China (Grant No. 2019CFA004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics & Optical Valley Laboratory, School of Integrated Circuits, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Ming Hu, Yao Wu, Long Chen, Wen Dong & Qiuyun Fu

  2. Research Institute of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518000, China

    Qiuyun Fu

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  1. Ming Hu
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Methodology, preparation, investigation, analysis, and writing of the original draft—Ming Hu. Resources and formal analysis—Yao Wu. Writing, reviewing, and editing of the manuscript—Long Chen. Conceptualization and revision of the manuscript—Wen Dong. Funding acquisition and supervision of experiments—Qiuyun Fu.

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Correspondence to Wen Dong or Qiuyun Fu.

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Hu, M., Wu, Y., Chen, L. et al. Effects of rare earth dopants on the EO properties and domain configurations in PMN-PT transparent ceramics. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 656 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12372-3

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