Ferroelectric materials possess a spontaneous polarisation that can be electrically switched between different orientations. Compared to ferromagnetics, the domain walls are small, allowing memory cells of higher storage density. Thin films of ferroelectric materials allow to increase the storage density even further. Exemplarily, incipient ferroelectricity is found in strontium titanate...
While the silicon-rich members of the series Cu2Zn(Ge,Si)Se4 crystallize in wurtz-kesterite type structure [1], germanium-rich samples adopt a tetrahedral structure of the kesterite type [2]. Identification of the silicon site is straightforward from regular X-ray diffraction, as Si4+ is a light element and has less electrons than the other cations. However,...
Resonant X-ray elastic scattering (REXS) is a unique element, site, and valence specific probe to study the charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom and multipole orders in solids and thin films [1,2]. This technique, which combines X-ray diffraction with X-ray absorption spectroscopy, has been successful in unraveling different order parameters and solving magnetic structures.
REXS is...
