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Department of Dielectrics

Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences


group Dielectric and IR spectroscopy science Dielectric and IR spectroscopy group THz and pump-probe science THz science and technology group Photon and neutron scattering group Light and neutron scattering group Theory Theory and
simulations
group Solid materials science Solid-state materials science group Liquid crystal material science Liquid crystals

About us

Main activities of Department of Dielectrics cover experimental and theoretical investigations of high-permittivity insulators like liquid crystals, ferroelectrics, multiferroics, piezoelectrics, semiconductor nanostructures, and low-loss materials.

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Photo of people of Dielectrics
Our mission: Understanding the materials for which the frequency dependence of dielectric function can be probed by capacitance, waveguide or optical techniques. Experimental research in the Department of Dielectrics is mostly based on dielectric, infrared, time-domain THz, Raman and neutron spectroscopy, but also calorimetry, nonlinear optics and scanning probe microscopy measurements. The information on the core research activities organized within our six principal research groups can be accessed through the following links:

The most significant fresh scientific results of our deparment are listed in the section Highlights.

Oncoming seminars & workshops

Seminars to be announced.

News & Public

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08.03.2024 Exhibition

Vladimíra Novotná - The beauty of liquid crystals

The exhibition is hosted by The small gallery of scientific images at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague (Ke Karlovu 3, 1st floor). and will last from 5.3. to 6.5.2024. The opening takes place on March 11, 2024 from 5:00 p.m.

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20.10.2023 Award

Anna Radochová won the Czech Head Award 2023 (České hlavičky) for secondary school students

Anna Radochová received this prestigious award in the category UNIVERSUM for her successful project "Properties of new photosensitive liquid crystals" under supervision of Alexej Bubnov. The ceremony will be broadcasted by the Czech Television on the 18th of November 2023.

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05.07.2023 Research

Charged domain walls in BaTiO3 crystals emerging from superdomain boundaries

Petr Bednyakov and Jirka Hlinka observed a transient domain structure with multiple superdomains whose boundaries transform into charged domain walls in BaTiO3 [Adv. Electron. Mater. 9, 2300005 (2023)]. These superdomains highlighted the inside front cover of the June issue of Advanced Electronic Materials.

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12.12.2022 Award

Karel Tesař received the Stanislav Hanzl award

Karel Tesař, a PhD student at the Department of Dielectrics and at the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, won the Stanislav Hanzl award which is presented to best students of the Czech Technical University in Prague on the occasion of the International Student Day (on November 17, 2022).

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Latest Highlights
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Ultrafast long-distance expansion of electron-hole plasma in direct bandgap semiconductors

Transport of charge carriers inside crystals is determined by their energy band structure which only permits velocities smaller than ~c/100 in known materials. We demonstrated that ultrafast and long-distance propagation of electron-hole plasma (velocities up to c/10, reaching more than 100 μm) is possible as a quite general result of fundamental electron-photon interaction in direct bandgap semiconductors upon strong pulse photoexcitation with low photon excess energy above the bandgap [PRL 130, 226301 (2023)].

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Paving the way to a 3-state thermal switch using antiferroelectric Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3

We propose a novel approach of phase-control in Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 (PZT95/5) based on the thermal behavior of its phases. Our results show the possibility to thermally switch among three states near room temperature using small temperature gradients by heating-cooling cycles at slow rates. Thus, PZT95/5 ceramics are potential materials for room temperature device applications [Acta Materialia, 119208 (2023), online].

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Application of HfO2 thin films in non-volatile memories – a review

We review main factors in preparation of HfO2 thin films and their physical properties which are important for applications in high-density resistive random access memories and ferroelectric memories [Small 18, 2107575 (2022)].

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Multidomain ordered metal–ferroelectric superlattices

By combination of advanced experimental techniques and phase-field simulations, we found that electric dipoles in superlattices, composed of layers of a ferroelectric material separated by thin metallic spacers, form an unusual pattern of nanoscale domains that order in three dimensions. These ferroelectric multidomain ordered superlattices exhibit an outstanding dielectric response and their engineered modulated structural and electronic properties can be controlled using electric field [Nat. Mater. 20, 495 (2021)].

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Ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases in liquid crystalline compounds with terphenyl in the molecular coere

We designed a new type of antiferroelectric liquid crystalline structure with terphenyl in the molecular core and two lactate units attached to the chiral chain [J. Mol. Liq. 336, 116267 (2021)].

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Latest Key Articles

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Z. An, H. Yokota, K. Kurihara, N. Hasegawa, P. Marton, A. M. Glazer, Y. Uesu, W. Ren, Z.-G. Ye, M. Paściak, and N. Zhang

Tuning of polar domain boundaries in nonpolar perovskite

Adv. Mater. 35, 2207665 (2023).
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Z. Jovanović, U. Trstenjak, H. Ho, O. Butsyk, B. Chen, E. Tchernychova, F. Borodavka, G. Koster, J. Hlinka, and M. Spreitzer

Tiling the Silicon for Added Functionality: PLD Growth of Highly Crystalline STO and PZT on Graphene Oxide-Buffered Silicon Surface

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 15, 6058 (2023).
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H-Ch. Ho, M. Smiljanić, Z. Jovanović, M. Čekada, J. Kovač, G. Koster, J. Hlinka, N. Hodnik, and M. Spreitzer

Robust SrTiO3 passivation of silicon photocathode by reduced graphene oxide for solar water splitting

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 15, 44482 (2023).
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N. Podoliak, P. Salamon, L. Lejček, P. Kužel, and V. Novotná

Undulations of smectic a layers in achiral liquid crystals manifested as stripe textures.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 228101 (2023).
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E. Buixaderas, C. Milesi-Brault, P. Vaněk, J. Kroupa, F. Craciun, F. Cordero, and C. Galassi

Peculiar dynamics of polar states at the morphotropic phase boundary of antiferroelectric Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3

Acta Mater. 258, 119208 (2023).
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T. Troha, F. Klimovič, T. Ostatnický, F. Kadlec, P. Kužel, and H. Němec

Ultrafast long-distance electron-hole plasma expansion in GaAs mediated by stimulated emission and reabsorption of photons

Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 226301 (2023).
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K. Tesař, M. Koller, D. Vokoun, O. Tyc, J. Čech, and P. Sedlák

Texture, elastic anisotropy and thermal stability of commercially pure titanium prepared by room temperature ECAP

Mater. Des. 226, 111678 (2023).
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P. Bednyakov and J. Hlinka

Charged domain walls in BaTiO3 crystals emerging from superdomain boundaries

Adv. Electron. Mater. 9, 2300005 (2023).

Last update: March 14, 2024 (admin)