Alexander Tagantsev – författare

At present, the marketplace for professionals, researchers, and graduate students in solid-state physics and materials science lacks a book that presents a comprehensive discussion of ferroelectrics and related materials in a form that is suitable for experimentalists and engineers. This book proposes to present a wide coverage of domain-related issues concerning these materials. This coverage includes selected theoretical topics (which are covered in the existing literature) in addition to a plethora of experimental data which occupies over half of the book.

The book presents experimental findings and theoretical understanding of ferroic (non-magnetic) domains developed during the past 60 years. It addresses the situation by looking specifically at bulk crystals and thin films, with a particular focus on recently-developed microelectronic applications and methods for observations of domains with techniques such as scanning force microscopy, polarized light microscopy, scanning optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and surface decorating techniques.

"Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin Films" covers a large area of material properties and effects connected with static and dynamic properties of domains, which are extremely relevant to materials referred to as ferroics. In other textbooks on solid state physics, one large group of ferroics is customarily covered: those in which magnetic properties play a dominant role. Numerous books are specifically devoted to magnetic ferroics and cover a wide spectrum of magnetic domain phenomena. In contrast, "Domains in Ferroic Crystals and Thin Films" concentrates on domain-related phenomena in nonmagnetic ferroics. These materials are still inadequately represented in solid state physics textbooks and monographs.

To handle many standards and ever increasing bandwidth requirements, large number of filters and switches are used in transceivers of modern wireless communications systems. It makes the cost, performance, form factor, and power consumption of these systems, including cellular phones, critical issues. At present, the fixed frequency filter banks based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR) are regarded as one of the most promising technologies to address performance -form factor-cost issues. Even though the FBARs improve the overall performances the complexity of these systems remains high.  Attempts are being made to exclude some of the filters by bringing the digital signal processing (including channel selection) as close to the antennas as possible. However handling the increased interference levels is unrealistic for low-cost battery operated radios. Replacing fixed frequency filter banks by one tuneable filter is the most desired and widely considered scenario. As an example, development of the software based cognitive radios is largely hindered by the lack of adequate agile components, first of all tuneable filters. In this sense the electrically switchable and tuneable FBARs are the most promising components to address the complex cost-performance issues in agile microwave transceivers, smart wireless sensor networks etc.

Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators discusses FBAR need, physics, designs, modelling, fabrication and applications. Tuning of the resonant frequency of the FBARs is considered. Switchable and tuneable FBARs based on electric field induced piezoelectric effect in paraelectric phase ferroelectrics are covered. The resonance of these resonators may be electrically switched on and off and tuned without hysteresis.

The book is aimed at microwave and sensor specialists in theindustry and graduate students. Readers will learn about principles of operation and possibilities of the switchable and tuneable FBARs, and will be given general guidelines for designing, fabrication and applications of these devices.