Elasticity of ferroic and multiferroic materials: a new UK facility for Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy with applied magnetic field up to 14 Teslas
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Earth Sciences
Abstract
This project falls in the field of materials physics and contains two parts. In the initial phase, a new instrument will be built to measure the elastic stiffness of small samples, down to ~1mm^3. The instrument will be based on the principle of Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) in which a single crystal or polycrystalline sample is caused to vibrate at frequencies close to 1 MHz. In exactly the same manner as a tuning fork or a bell, the vibration frequencies depend on the elastic stiffness of the material and the shape of the object. If the object contains a defect, analogous say to a crack in a bell, some of the vibration energy is dissipated and the resonances are broadened. Resonances of the sample can be measured at low temperatures and at high temperatures so that the elastic properties of an object of known shape can be determined simultaneously with any energy dissipation which occurs within it. These properties are particularly sensitive to changes in crystal structure which might be associated with the development of electric or magnetic dipoles. The new instrument will have the special addition of a strong magnet so that the properties of materials belonging to the topical classes of "ferroic" and "multiferroic" phases can be investigated as functions of both temperature and magnetic field strength. As such it will provide a unique and medium/long term contribution to the science infrastructure of the UK.The second part of the project involves implementation of the new RUS instrument in a series of collaborative studies of materials which develop properties that are potentially important for application in commercial devices involving, for example, superconductors, spintronics and magnetoelectric memories. The principles underpinning the development of these properties are (a) that they arise from subtle changes in crystal structure and/or electronic structure, (b) that they are strongly dependent on temperature and magnetic field strength, (c) that they are associated with changes in strain state and, hence, with large changes in the elastic constants, (d) that they are almost invariably associated with the development of specific types of defects, such as transformation twin walls, which cause the materials to become heterogeneous on a submicroscopic length scale and (e) that such defects have their own structural, electric and magnetic properties. Particular advantage will be taken of the fact that the RUS method provides a highly sensitive method for measuring the extent to which transformation-related defects are mobile in response to an externally applied field. In addition, the new instrument will allow non-destructive testing of mm-sized electronic devices which depend on components that are sensitive to magnetic fields, and the possibility of measuring elastic properties of nanomaterials.
Planned Impact
Research into the unusual and highly variable elastic and magnetic properties associated with structural, ferroelectric, magnetic and electronic phase transitions in minerals and technological materials is a specialized field. The specific experimental techniques to be developed and employed in the proposed research are not available in industry and the new RUS instrument will be a unique addition to UK infrastructure for high level research in materials physics. Its application will be to scientific problems that are of immediate relevance to scientists currently working on colossal magnetoresistance materials, multiferroic phases with phase transitions, multiferroic relaxors, pnictide superconductors and quantum ferroelectrics. Outputs from the work will firstly be in the standard form of timely publications in leading scientific journals and presentations at international meetings. An additional feature of the project, however, is that it involves close collaboration with separate research groups in the UK, Spain and Australia. Such collaboration inevitably generates added value because of the transfer of ideas and skills which necessarily accompanies interactions between scientists with quite different backgrounds and operating in different fields (in this case, Earth Sciences, Materials Science, Physics and Chemistry). A broader common theme is the pervasive influence of phase transitions on potential device materials more generally. This theme carries over, also, to real device applications. A specific impact activity of the proposed project is to organize one day meetings in Cambridge amongst all local scientists whose interests fall within this broader theme, so allowing immediate transfer from fundamental science to potential applications. The first meeting of this type in 2010 involved 65 participants and immediately led to some of the collaborative ventures set out here. Two further such meetings are proposed, with emphasis on getting research students and post-docs in 5 different departments (including Engineering) to present their work, and with the explicit intention of giving them well structured opportunities for networking between themselves and with senior academics in different fields.The PI has a background in basic science, but some of the collaborators also have close contacts with industry. It is certain that some of the materials to be investigated or, at least, the properties that they display, will be used in applications such as spintronics and multiferroic memories. For example, J.F.Scott has a well established record of transferring the science of ferroelectrics into the multi-million dollar field of non-volatile random access memory. His participation in projects on pure and doped BiFeO3 and on multiferroic relaxors will ensure that the new insights into strain coupling mechanisms which RUS can provide are transferred into the domain of device development. The timescale over which this will occur is not clear but the intense activity around the world in this field is a clear indicator that commercial applications are expected to be in the short/medium term. The existing and new RUS facilities will also be made available for collaborative projects in other areas. Notably, this has already led to a joint project with members of the University Technology Centre funded by Rolls Royce in Materials Science which has been set up to develop new high temperature Ni-based superalloys. The PDRA employed to undertake this project will have a unique experience of applying specialized techniques to a range of materials where there is both scientific and commercial interest. He/she will also benefit from the wide interactions which will necessarily accrue due to the collaborative nature of the work, and will be well placed to continue a career in academia or industry.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Michael Carpenter (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Aktas O
(2015)
Elastic softening of leucite and the lack of polar domain boundaries
in American Mineralogist
Aktas O
(2022)
Probing the dynamic response of ferroelectric and ferroelastic materials by simultaneous detection of elastic and piezoelectric properties
in Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Carpenter M
(2023)
Strain-coupling and relaxation dynamics in multicaloric ammonium sulphate ( NH 4 ) 2 SO 4
in Physical Review Materials
Carpenter M
(2022)
Static and dynamic strain relaxation associated with the paraelectric-antiferroelectric phase transition in PbZrO3
in Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Carpenter M
(2019)
Strain relaxation behaviour of vortices in a multiferroic superconductor
Carpenter M
(2021)
Strain relaxation dynamics of multiferroic orthorhombic manganites.
Carpenter M
(2020)
Strain relaxation dynamics of multiferroic orthorhombic manganites.
Carpenter MA
(2021)
Strain relaxation dynamics of multiferroic orthorhombic manganites.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Carpenter MA
(2015)
Elastic and magnetoelastic relaxation behaviour of multiferroic (ferromagnetic + ferroelectric + ferroelastic) Pb(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 perovskite.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Carpenter MA
(2015)
Static and dynamic strain coupling behaviour of ferroic and multiferroic perovskites from resonant ultrasound spectroscopy.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Carpenter MA
(2019)
Ferroelasticity, anelasticity and magnetoelastic relaxation in Co-doped iron pnictide: Ba(Fe0.957Co0.043)2As2.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Costa M
(2023)
Anelastic-like nature of the rejuvenation of metallic glasses by cryogenic thermal cycling
in Acta Materialia
Driver S
(2016)
On the effect of hydrogen on the elastic moduli and acoustic loss behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V
in Philosophical Magazine
Driver S
(2020)
Order-parameter coupling and strain relaxation behavior of Ti 50 Pd 50 - x Cr x martensites
in Physical Review B
Evans D
(2017)
Defect dynamics and strain coupling to magnetization in the cubic helimagnet C u 2 OSe O 3
in Physical Review B
Evans DM
(2019)
Strain relaxation behaviour of vortices in a multiferroic superconductor.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Fernandez-Posada C
(2021)
Order-disorder, ferroelasticity and mobility of domain walls in multiferroic Cu-Cl boracite.
Fernandez-Posada C
(2022)
Magnetoelastic properties of multiferroic hexagonal ErMnO3
Fernandez-Posada C
(2021)
Order-disorder, ferroelasticity and mobility of domain walls in multiferroic Cu-Cl boracite.
Fernandez-Posada C
(2022)
Magnetoelastic properties of multiferroic hexagonal ErMnO3
in Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Fernandez-Posada CM
(2021)
Order-disorder, ferroelasticity and mobility of domain walls in multiferroic Cu-Cl boracite.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Haines C
(2020)
Morin-type transition in 5C pyrrhotite
in American Mineralogist
Haines C
(2023)
Magnetoelastic coupling behaviour of nanocrystalline e-Fe2O3
in Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Haines C
(2020)
Morin-type transition in 5C pyrrhotite
Haines CRS
(2020)
Magnetoelastic coupling associated with vacancy ordering and ferrimagnetism in natural pyrrhotite, Fe7S8.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Haines CRS
(2020)
Magnetoelastic properties and behaviour of 4C pyrrhotite, Fe7S8, through the Besnus transition.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Harwell J
(2018)
Role of lattice distortion and A site cation in the phase transitions of methylammonium lead halide perovskites
in Physical Review Materials
Howieson G
(2021)
Structural phase transitions in the geometric ferroelectric LaTa O 4
in Physical Review B
Jakobsen V
(2020)
Stress-Induced Domain Wall Motion in a Ferroelastic Mn 3+ Spin Crossover Complex
in Angewandte Chemie
Jakobsen VB
(2022)
Domain Wall Dynamics in a Ferroelastic Spin Crossover Complex with Giant Magnetoelectric Coupling.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Jakobsen VB
(2020)
Stress-Induced Domain Wall Motion in a Ferroelastic Mn3+ Spin Crossover Complex.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Ketov SV
(2015)
Rejuvenation of metallic glasses by non-affine thermal strain.
in Nature
Lan B
(2018)
Rapid measurement of volumetric texture using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy
in Scripta Materialia
Markanday J
(2023)
Effect of NbC inoculants on the elastic properties and microstructure of additively manufactured IN718
in Materialia
Markanday JFS
(2023)
Data on the effect of NbC inoculants on the elastic and microstructural evolution of LBP-DED IN718.
in Data in brief
Mason H
(2016)
Structural and spectroscopic characterisation of the spin crossover in [Fe(abpt) 2 (NCS) 2 ] polymorph A
in New Journal of Chemistry
McNulty J
(2020)
Local Structure and Order-Disorder Transitions in "Empty" Ferroelectric Tetragonal Tungsten Bronzes
in Chemistry of Materials
Muñoz-Moreno R
(2016)
Effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, texture and elastic anisotropy of the nickel-based superalloy CM247LC processed by selective laser melting
in Materials Science and Engineering: A
Oravova L
(2013)
Elastic and anelastic relaxations accompanying magnetic ordering and spin-flop transitions in hematite, Fe2O3.
in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
Pagliari L
(2014)
Strain heterogeneity and magnetoelastic behaviour of nanocrystalline half-doped La, Ca manganite, La 0.5 Ca 0.5 MnO 3
in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Description | We have demonstrated the fundamental role of strain relaxation phenomena in controlling the properties of multiferroic materials and the dynamics of their related microstructures. This work has now greatly expanded in terms of the range of domain wall structures that we have been investigating and in terms of successful collaborations with our partners. |
Exploitation Route | Our findings are relevant for engineers who might be designing devices which depend on the properties of multiferroic materials. |
Sectors | Electronics |
Description | We have been working with Rolls Royce on the elastic properties of their turbine blades. it turns our that our equipment is ideally suited for measuring the elastic properties of repaired segments of the blades at room temperature and at high temperatures. This information is valuable when they come to model the stress distribution in repaired blades at the working temperatures of the blades. |
First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
Description | Research Project Grant |
Amount | £219,851 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RPG-2016-298 |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2017 |
End | 05/2021 |
Title | Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy for in-situ determination of elastic properties of solids from 1.5 to 300 K and with magnetic field up to 14 T. |
Description | By measuring the resonance frequency and acoustic loss of samples with dimensions in the range ~1-5 mm, it is possible to follow the changes in elastic and anelastic properties that accompany magnetic, electronic, ferroelectric and ferroelastic phase transitions. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Developing applications for ferroic and multiferroic materials. |