Raman Response of Quantum Critical Ferroelectric Pb-Doped SrTiO₃

Abstract

A quantum paraelectric SrTiO3 is a material situated in close proximity to a quantum critical point (QCP) of ferroelectric transition in which the critical temperature to the ferroelectric state is suppressed down to 0 K. However, the understanding of the behavior of the phase transition in the vicinity of this point remains challenging. Using the concentration x of Pb in solid solution Sr1−xPbxTiO3 (PSTx) as a tuning parameter and applying the combination of Raman and dielectric spectroscopy methods, we approach the QCP in PSTx and study the interplay of classical and quantum phenomena in the region of criticality. We obtain the critical temperature of PSTx and the evolution of the temperature-dependent dynamical properties of the system as a function of x to reveal the mechanism of the transition. We show that the ferroelectric transition occurs gradually through the emergence of the polar nanoregions inside the non-polar tetragonal phase with their further expansion on cooling. We also study the ferroelastic cubic-to-tetragonal structural transition, occurring at higher temperatures, and show that its properties are almost concentration-independent and not affected by the quantum criticality.

Keywords

• quantum paraelectrics
• strontium titanate
• solid solutions
• lattice dynamics
• dielectric response