Paramagnetic Transitions Ions as Structural Modifiers in Ferroelectrics

Abstract

The science of ferroelectric materials has long known that transition metal atom and/or rear earth atom substitution in the composition of a ferroelectric material can produce substantial structural and electric dipole changes and ferroelectric behavior. The focus is on first neighbor changes, symmetry, very tiny atomic displacements, hence magnitudes of electric polarization, charge changes, and mechanical-tensile change of parameters. The transition atom used for the substitution can, or, cannot be paramagnetic. When it is paramagnetic as is the case with Cr3+, Mn2+ and so forth, there emerges an advantage for its experimental characterization at atomic level. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) allows the identification of its location within the structure and the number and nature of its neighbors. The presence of crystal fields, symmetry and distortions of the first coordination sphere can also be determined. Here, we describe how a set of EPR spectra is analyzed to extract such atomic information.