INFLUENCE OF DEFECTS ON THE INCOMMENSURATE MODULATION IN IRRADIATED BA2NANB5O15

Defect-induced properties of barium sodium niobate (Ba2NaNb5O15) have been studied as a function of electron irradiation dose. Birefringence measurements at low doses indicate that the lock-in transition temperature, originally at about 280-degrees-C, decreases linearly with increasing dose. Complementary irradiations in situ in a high-voltage electron microscope show that the incommensurate phase can be stabilized down to room temperature. Simultaneously the satellite diffraction spots broaden and the lock-in transition becomes diffuse. The modification of the hysteresis of the birefringence, observed already at the lowest doses, indicates a progressive extension of the stability range of the 2q modulated phase to lower temperatures as the defect concentration increases. A similar conclusion can be drawn from the satellite reflection dark-field electron micrographs that show, once the incommensurate phase is stabilized at room temperature, the doubly modulated texture characteristic of the 2q modulated phase. Low doses of irradiation do not change qualitatively the configuration of the residual discommensurations in the lock-in phase nor the temperature dependence of the incommensurability. Accordingly, already in the as-grown samples the defects dominate the pinning of the incommensurate modulation and the intrinsic properties of this incommensurate system are not clearly observable.