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Permissible domain walls in monoclinic MAB ferroelectric phases

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aDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Wolfson Building for Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
*Correspondence e-mail: [email protected]

Edited by L. Palatinus, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia (Received 2 May 2023; accepted 19 October 2023)

This article is part of a collection of articles from the IUCr 2023 Congress in Melbourne, Australia, and commemorates the 75th anniversary of the IUCr.

The concept of monoclinic ferroelectric phases has been extensively used over recent decades for the understanding of crystallographic structures of ferroelectric materials. Monoclinic phases have been actively invoked to describe the phase boundaries such as the so-called morphotropic phase boundary in functional perovskite oxides. These phases are believed to play a major role in the enhancement of such functional properties as dielectricity and electromechanical coupling through rotation of spontaneous polarization and/or modification of the rich domain microstructures. Unfortunately, such microstructures remain poorly understood due to the complexity of the subject. The goal of this work is to formulate the geometrical laws behind the monoclinic domain microstructures. Specifically, the result of previous work [Gorfman et al. (2022). Acta Cryst. A78, 158–171] is implemented to catalog and outline some properties of permissible domain walls that connect `strain' domains with monoclinic (MA/MB type) symmetry, occurring in ferroelectric perovskite oxides. The term `permissible' [Fousek & Janovec (1969). J. Appl. Phys. 40, 135–142] pertains to the domain walls connecting a pair of `strain' domains without a lattice mismatch. It was found that 12 monoclinic domains may form pairs connected along 84 types of permissible domain walls. These contain 48 domain walls with fixed Miller indices (known as W-walls) and 36 domain walls whose Miller indices may change when free lattice parameters change as well (known as S-walls). Simple and intuitive analytical expressions are provided that describe the orientation of these domain walls, the matrices of transformation between crystallographic basis vectors and, most importantly, the separation between Bragg peaks, diffracted from each of the 84 pairs of domains, connected along a permissible domain wall. It is shown that the orientation of a domain wall may be described by the specific combination of the monoclinic distortion parameters r = [2/(γα)][(c/a) − 1], f = (π − 2γ)/(π − 2α) and p = [2/(παγ)] [(c/a) − 1]. The results of this work will enhance understanding and facilitate investigation (e.g. using single-crystal X-ray diffraction) of complex monoclinic domain microstructures in both crystals and thin films.

1. Introduction

Monoclinic ferroelectric phases (MFEPs) have played an important role in understanding the structural mechanisms behind enhancement of properties in functional ferroelectric materials, particularly in mixed-ion perovskite oxides. The concept of `monoclinic ferroelectrics' revolutionized the view on ferroelectricity by suggesting that spontaneous polarization can be rotated, rather than inverted or extended only (Davis et al., 2007View full citation; Damjanovic, 2010View full citation). Evidence of MFEPs was first reported by Noheda et al. (1999View full citation, 2000View full citation), Guo et al. (2000View full citation) and supported by the splitting of Bragg reflections in high-resolution X-ray diffraction patterns. MFEPs were later incorporated into the higher-order Devonshire theory (Vanderbilt & Cohen, 2001View full citation) and invoked to explain the enhancement of the giant piezoelectric effect in PbZr1−xTixO3 at the so-called morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) (Fu & Cohen, 2000View full citation). The monoclinic space groups of ferroelectrics were used for many structural refinements based on X-ray and neutron scattering experiments (Gorfman & Thomas, 2010View full citation; Choe et al., 2018View full citation; Zhang et al., 2015View full citation; Zhang, Yokota et al., 2014View full citation; Aksel et al., 2011View full citation), and for the interpretation of the results of polarized light/birefringence experiments (Bokov et al., 2010View full citation; Gorfman et al., 2012View full citation). However, the true nature of the MFEPs is still debated: it is not clear if the MFEPs are truly long-range ordered or if the apparent long-range monoclinic order is `mimicked' by the so-called adaptive state, consisting of assemblies of locally tetragonal or rhombohedral nano­domains (Jin et al., 2003View full citation; Viehland & Salje, 2014View full citation; Zhang, Xue et al., 2014View full citation). Regardless of the true character of MFEPs, the concept remains useful for the description of various phenomena in single-crystal ferroelectrics (Noheda et al., 2001View full citation; Choe et al., 2018View full citation; Gorfman et al., 2012View full citation), ferro/piezoceramics (Liu et al., 2017View full citation; Zhang, Yokota et al., 2014View full citation), epitaxial thin films (Wang et al., 2003View full citation; von Helden et al., 2018View full citation; Braun et al., 2018View full citation; Schmidbauer et al., 2017View full citation; de Oliveira Guimarães et al., 2022View full citation) and shape memory alloys (Bhattacharya, 2003View full citation).

Besides the interesting intrinsic properties of MFEPs, rich microstructures of monoclinic domains (MDs) and domain walls (DWs) between them attract a great deal of interest (Nakajima et al., 2022View full citation; Mantri & Daniels, 2021View full citation). Any domain microstructures may underpin exotic physical properties such as giant electromechanical coupling (Hu et al., 2020View full citation), enhanced dielectric permittivity (Trolier-McKinstry et al., 2018View full citation), superelasticity (Viehland & Salje, 2014View full citation), the shape memory effect (Bhattacharya, 2003View full citation) and domain-wall superconductivity (Catalan et al., 2012View full citation). These microstructure-driven properties are particularly diverse when individual domains host several order parameters (e.g. electric, magnetic and elastic). Remarkably, such properties are often absent in a single domain. Their appearance and magnitude depend on the mobility of DWs. MFEPs should have rich and volatile domain microstructures. Therefore, the properties of DWs in MFEPs (such as crystallographic orientation and mobility) are relevant for the understanding of physical properties of materials. Although the algorithms for the prediction of DWs between domains of different symmetry are known (Fousek & Janovec, 1969View full citation; Sapriel, 1975View full citation; Authier, 2003View full citation), the underlying complexity of the subjects prevents any comprehensive understanding of domain microstructures of MFEPs.

The aim of this work is to describe the geometry of permissible DWs (PDWs) between domains of MFEPs. The term permissible [coined by Fousek & Janovec (1969View full citation), see also Sapriel (1975View full citation)] denotes a planar DW connecting two domains without any lattice mismatch. For example, tetragonal domains are permitted to connect along DWs of six different orientations (with the Miller indices belonging to the family {110}), rhombohedral domains are permitted to connect along DWs of 12 different orientations [with the Miller indices belonging to the families {110} and {100}, and exhibiting different physical properties (such as e.g. scattering of light) (Qiu et al., 2020View full citation)].

We demonstrate that, most generally, MDs are permitted to connect along 84 types of DW of 45 different orientations and five different orientational families. More specifically, we show that all the 84 DWs contain 48 prominent DWs (W-walls) which have fixed crystallographic orientation and 36 S-walls which change their orientation when free monoclinic lattice parameters change too. In addition, we present the analytical expressions for the matrices of transformation between the lattice basis vectors of matched domains and for the separation between Bragg peaks, diffracted from such domains. The presented equations create the direct path for the calculations of DW-related quantities, such as angles between polarization directions, the direction of DW motion under an electric field and so on.

2. Monoclinic ferroelectric phases: important definitions

This paper implements the list of notations and abbreviations introduced by Gorfman et al. (2022View full citation). Appendix A[link] summarizes the most important ones. This section describes the definitions relevant for the description of the monoclinic phases of ferroelectric perovskites.

According to Fu & Cohen (2000View full citation), MFEPs can be of MA/MB or alternatively MC types. These types differ from one another by the set of independent pseudocubic lattice parameters and by the direction in which spontaneous polarization may develop. Note that while the spontaneous polarization vector, P (SP), is not mandatory in ferroelastic domains, it exists in practice for the case of ferroic perovskite oxides. Even if the magnitude of such polarization is zero, it is still useful to consider the potential SP direction(s) for domain referencing and numbering.

This paper focuses on the MA/MB case. The case of MC domains will be described in a follow-up paper.

2.1. The definition of MA/MB monoclinic domains

The crystallographic structures of the MA/MB phases of perovskite oxides belong to the space-group types Cm, Cc (Zhang, Yokota et al., 2014View full citation). These structures are obtained by the symmetry-lowering phase transitions from those described by the rhombohedral (R) space-group types R3m, R3c. The mirror (m)/glide (c) plane is parallel to two mutually perpendicular face-diagonals and the edge of the pseudocubic unit cell. These space-group types allow for rotation of the polar axis (e.g. the direction of the spontaneous polarization vector) within this mirror plane. Additionally, these space groups permit any distortion of the unit cell that maintains the mirror plane. Both the distortion of the pseudocubic unit cell (alongside the mirror plane) and the polar axis direction are shown in Fig. 1[link](a).

[Figure 1]
Figure 1
Schematic illustration of the MA/MB monoclinic domains and numeration of their variants. (a) The unit-cell distortion along with the rotation of the SPD (if such polarization is present). (b) The stereographic projection, showing these directions for the domains of tetragonal (red squares), rhombohedral (green triangles) and monoclinic (blue circles) symmetry. The tetragonal domains (1), (2), (3) correspond to the SPD along [100], [010] and [001], respectively. The rhombohedral domains (1), (2), (3) and (4) correspond to the SPD along [111], [111], [111] and [111] directions, respectively. The SPDs within the 12 monoclinic domains are further explained in Table 1[link].
2.1.1. The numeration of the monoclinic domains and the potential spontaneous polarization

It is convenient to illustrate the monoclinic domains using stereographic projection and the corresponding potential spontaneous polarization direction (SPD). Since MA/MB domains arise from the transition from the rhombohedral R phase, we define the SPD by a small rotation angle ρ from any of the four body-diagonal directions 〈111〉 towards any of the three adjacent unit-cell edges 〈001〉. We mark the corresponding 12 monoclinic domains as Mnm where the first index n lists the SPDs, Mathematical equation in the `parent' rhombohedral domain. In this case, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. The second index m Mathematical equation marks the pseudocubic axis Mathematical equation so that Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation to which the polarization rotates. For example, the monoclinic domain M13 has its SPD rotated from Mathematical equation towards Mathematical equation, while M21 has its SPD rotated from Mathematical equation towards Mathematical equation. The SPDs in all 12 monoclinic domains are shown on the stereographic projections in Fig. 1[link](b).

In the following, we express the coordinates of the SPD relative to the axes of the Cartesian coordinate system, that are nearly parallel to the pseudocubic basis vectors. For the cases of domains M13 we obtain

Mathematical equation

Here, we introduced the notation

Mathematical equation

with Mathematical equation the angle between the body-diagonal and the edge of a cube, so that Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation. Assuming the SPD rotation angle ρ is small and keeping the first term in the Taylor expansion with respect to ρ, we can rewrite equation (2)[link] as

Mathematical equation

Note that the cases of Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation are referred to as MA and MB phases, correspondingly.

2.1.2. Pseudocubic lattice parameters of the monoclinic MA/MB domains

Fig. 1[link](a) shows the MA/MB distortion of the pseudocubic unit cell. The corresponding pseudocubic lattice parameters Mathematical equation are described by four independent variables: Mathematical equation (Gorfman & Thomas, 2010View full citation; Aksel et al., 2011View full citation; Choe et al., 2018View full citation): e.g. for the domain M13 Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation. The corresponding matrix of the dot product is

Mathematical equation

Here, [I] is the unitary matrix and

Mathematical equation

Assuming that the monoclinic distortion is small and keeping the first power of Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, we can write

Mathematical equation

The resulting monoclinic crystal lattice is invariant with respect to Mathematical equation symmetry operations of the holohedry point group Mathematical equation. The parent cubic crystal lattice is invariant with respect to Mathematical equation operations of the holohedry point group m3m. Because the monoclinic distortion may commence from any of these 48 equivalent variants, there are Mathematical equation variants of the monoclinic domain's variants. These are listed in Table 1[link], which contains domain identifications, Mnm, the Mathematical equation metric tensors, the SPD and the lattice parameters a1, a2, a3, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation.

Table 1
The definition of the 12 monoclinic (MA/MB-type) domain variants

The first column contains the domain variant identifier [as also displayed in Fig. 1[link](b)]. The second column contains the twinning matrix [the definition of this matrix is explained by Gorfman et al. (2022View full citation) but also presented in equation (66)[link]]. The third column contains the SPD for each domain, relative to the domain-related crystallographic coordinate system. The fourth column contains the pseudocubic lattice parameters expressed in terms of free parameters a, c, α, γ. The notations Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation are used. The last column contains the reduced matrix Mathematical equation. The calculations of the Mathematical equation and corresponding lattice parameters are done using equation (67)[link].

Domain name Twinning matrix [T] [P]mn Pseudocubic Lp [G′]mn
M11 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M12 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M13 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation a a c  Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M21 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M22 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M23 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M31 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M32 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M41 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation

2.2. Domain pairs

Twelve ferroelastic domains (Table 1[link]) can form 66 domain pairs. Some of these pairs can be connected via PDWs and some of them cannot. Before analyzing PDWs between various pairs of monoclinic domains, we will introduce five different pair types. These types are referred to as `R-sibling', `R-planar', `R-semi-planar', `R-semi-crossed' and `R-crossed'. Each type has its own angle between the SPDs and its own expressions for the indices of PDWs. Accordingly, we expect different properties from various domain pair types, with respect to e.g. DW motion under an external electric field. Table 2[link] presents the information about all five domain pairs, including pair name, abbreviation, formal definition, the angles between SPDs and the reference figure.

Table 2
The definitions of monoclinic MA/MB domain pair types

The first two columns contain the domain pair name (full and short), the third column defines the pair, the fourth column lists the angle ξ between the SPDs as a function of ρ. This angle can be calculated by using Table 1[link], equation (2)[link] and keeping the first power of ρ in the Taylor series expansion. The fifth column contains the number of the corresponding domain pairs, the last column refers to the corresponding figure.

Full name Short name Formal definition Mathematical equation No. of pairs Fig.
R-sibling RSB Mnk Mnl Mathematical equation 12 Fig. 2[link]
R-planar RP MmkMnk, Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 6 Fig. 3[link]
R-semi-planar RSP MmkMnk, Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 12 Fig. 4[link]
R-semi-crossed RSC MmkMnl, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 12 Fig. 5[link]
R-crossed RC MmkMnl, Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation or Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 24 Fig. 6[link]
2.2.1. Domain pairs of the type `R-sibling'

We will use the term `R-sibling' for 12 pairs of monoclinic domains Mnk Mnl such that the members of each pair originate from the same parent/rhombohedral domain Rn. Three R-sibling pairs can be formed for each Rn: Mn1 Mn2, Mn2 Mn3 and Mn3 Mn1. All such pairs are illustrated on the stereographic projections (viewed along [001] and [110] directions) in Fig. 2[link].

[Figure 2]
Figure 2
Schematic illustration of the `R-sibling' type of monoclinic domain pairs. The term `R-sibling' refers to the case when both pair members originate from the same R domain. The figure includes: (a) stereographic projection viewed along the [001] direction, showing the SPDs in the 12 monoclinic domains. (b) Stereographic direction viewed along the direction [110], highlighting the sibling pair types, originating from R1 and R2.
2.2.2. Domain pairs of the type `R-planar'

We will use the term `R-planar' for six pairs of monoclinic domains MmkMnk, originating from different rhombohedral domains Rm and Rn (Mathematical equation) but such that Mathematical equation, where Mathematical equation marks the pseudocubic axis that is parallel to the RmRn plane so that

Mathematical equation

All the R-planar domain pairs are illustrated in Fig. 3[link] on the same type of stereographic projection as in Fig. 2[link].

[Figure 3]
Figure 3
The same as Fig. 2[link] but for the case of the `R-planar' type of DW pairs.
2.2.3. Domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar'

We use the term `R-semi-planar' for 12 pairs of monoclinic domains MnkMmk originating from different rhombohedral domains Rm and Rn (Mathematical equation) but such that Mathematical equation. Each RmRn pair produces two monoclinic domain pairs of this type, e.g. M12 M22 and M13 M23 for the case of R1R2. All the R-semi-planar domain pairs are illustrated in Fig. 4[link].

[Figure 4]
Figure 4
The same as Fig. 2[link] but for the case of the `R-semi-planar' type of DW pairs.
2.2.4. Domain walls of the type `R-semi-crossed'

We will use the term `R-semi-crossed' for 12 pairs of monoclinic domains Mmk and Mnl, originating from different rhombohedral domains Rm and Rn (Mathematical equation) and such that both Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. In addition, Mathematical equation because the cases of Mathematical equation are already included in the `R-semi-planar' type of domain pairs. Each RmRn pair produces two pairs of monoclinic domains of this type, e.g. M12 M23 and M13M22 for the case of R1R2. All the R-semi-crossed pairs of domains are illustrated in Fig. 5[link].

[Figure 5]
Figure 5
The same as Fig. 2[link] but for the case of the `R-semi-crossed' twin domain pairs.
2.2.5. Domain pairs of the type `R-crossed'

We will finally use the term `R-crossed' for 24 pairs of monoclinic domains Mmk and Mnl such that Mathematical equation, while either Mathematical equation or Mathematical equation. Each RmRn pair produces four pairs of monoclinic domains of this type, for example M11M23, M11M22, M13M21 and M12M21 for the case of R1R2. All the R-crossed domains are illustrated in Fig. 6[link]. We will see later that these pair types may generally not be connected via PDWs.

[Figure 6]
Figure 6
The same as Fig. 2[link] but for the case of the `R-crossed' type of domain pair.

3. The orientation of PDWs between different pairs of domains

According to Fousek & Janovec (1969View full citation), the term PDW stands for a planar DW that enables mismatch-free connection of one domain to another. PDWs are parallel to lattice planes with specific Miller indices (hkl) which have the same two-dimensional lattice parameters in both domains connected. For any two arbitrary domains, described by the matrices of dot products [G]n and [G]m, such a plane should satisfy the equations Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation (here Mathematical equation). The key steps (see Gorfman et al., 2022View full citation) for finding the orientation of the PDWs between two arbitrary domains (Table 1[link]) are:

(i) Finding the eigenvalues (λ1, λ2 and λ3) of Mathematical equation or, equivalently, Mathematical equation.

(ii) Checking if these domains have PDWs. This is the case if at least one eigenvalue is zero (e.g. λ2 = 0). This condition is fulfilled if and only if Mathematical equation.

(iii) Rearranging the eigenvalues so that λ2 = 0, λ3 > 0. Importantly, for all the cases considered in this paper Mathematical equation, which means that Mathematical equation = 0 and Mathematical equation.

(iv) Forming the orthogonal matrix [V] (Mathematical equation) whose columns are the corresponding normalized eigenvectors of Mathematical equation.

(v) Finding the PDW indices (the coordinates of the PDW normal with respect to the reciprocal basis vector Mathematical equation) according to Mathematical equation or Mathematical equation.

(vi) When possible, Mathematical equation can be extended to the nearest all-integer values to get the Miller indices of the corresponding DW hkl.

Besides the ability to calculate the Miller indices of the PDW, this approach provides the basis for the calculation of the orientation relationship between the domain's basis vectors and separation of Bragg peaks, diffracted from a matched pair of domains. This possibility is the main advantage of this approach over those already existing (Fousek & Janovec, 1969View full citation). The relevant information for calculating these quantities is given further in Section 5[link].

3.1. PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-sibling'

We will demonstrate the derivation of the PDWs connecting the representative domain pair M12 M13 and obtain similar results for all the other pairs of this type analogously. Using the last column of Table 1[link] and equations (6)[link] we obtain

Mathematical equation

The following notation is introduced here:

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

The eigenvalues of the Mathematical equation can be found trivially as Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation with

Mathematical equation

The corresponding eigenvalues of the matrix Mathematical equation are Mathematical equation with

Mathematical equation

The orthogonal matrix of eigenvectors of Mathematical equation (as well as Mathematical equation) can be expressed as

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, two PDWs normal to the vectors Mathematical equation Mathematical equation) are possible:

Mathematical equation

The Mathematical equation normal has fixed coordinates that do not depend on the free lattice parameters. According to Fousek & Janovec (1969View full citation), such a wall can therefore be referred to as a W-wall. In contrast, the Mathematical equation depends on the monoclinic distortion parameter r and according to Fousek & Janovec (1969View full citation) it can be referred to as an S-wall (`strange' DW). Although the monoclinic distortion parameters C, A, B are small, the value of r (as a ratio of C and AB) is not. This means that even a small change of monoclinic distortion may cause significant reorientation of the PDW. Table 3[link] highlights several favorable cases of the monoclinic distortion parameter r which sets the S-wall to have rational `Miller' indices. For example, r = 2 [when Mathematical equation] creates a PDW along the (111) plane. Approaching Mathematical equation (e.g. α = γ) would mean the appearance of a PDW parallel to (011).

Table 3
The special cases of monoclinic distortion, leading to the appearance of S-walls with rational Miller indices

The first column contains the relevant condition for the lattice parameters, the second column contains the corresponding value of r. The third column contains the eigenvalue Mathematical equation of the matrix Mathematical equation. The condition of mismatch-free connection is only relevant for the case if Mathematical equation (otherwise the domains may connect along any plane). The last column contains the Miller indices of the DW.

Lattice parameters r Mathematical equation S-wall orientation
c = a 0 Mathematical equation (100)
α = γ Mathematical equation (011)
Mathematical equation 2 Mathematical equation (111)

3.2. PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-planar'

We will demonstrate the derivation of the PDWs connecting the representative domain pair M11 M21 and obtain similar results for the other pairs of this type analogously. Using the last column of Table 1[link] and equations (6)[link],

Mathematical equation

Here, we introduce the following notation:

Mathematical equation

It is straightforward to see that the eigenvalues of Mathematical equation are Mathematical equation. Similarly, the eigenvalues of the matrix Mathematical equation are Mathematical equation with

Mathematical equation

The orthogonal matrix of eigenvectors of both Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation is

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, two PDWs normal to the vectors Mathematical equation Mathematical equation) exist:

Mathematical equation

Both are W-walls, i.e. the crystallographic orientation of these walls does not depend on the values of the lattice parameters.

3.3. PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar'

We will demonstrate the derivation of the PDWs connecting the representative domain pair M12 M22 and obtain similar results for the other pairs of this type analogously. According to the last column of Table 1[link] and equations (6)[link],

Mathematical equation

Here, we introduce the following notation:

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of Mathematical equation can be written as Mathematical equation,

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, the corresponding eigenvalues of Mathematical equation are Mathematical equation with

Mathematical equation

It is straightforward to see that the orthogonal matrix of eigenvectors of Mathematical equation (as well as Mathematical equation) can be expressed as

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, two PDWs normal to the vectors Mathematical equation Mathematical equation) exist:

Mathematical equation

As in the case of PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type R-sibling, both W- and S-type DWs are present. Notably, it is shown in equation (22)[link] that the orientation of the DW depends on the ratio of the angles Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation rather than the lengths of the pseudocubic cell edges. The corresponding S-wall becomes parallel to the lattice plane with rational Miller indices for the special case such as Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation or Mathematical equation. Table 4[link] lists these favorable cases.

Table 4
The same as Table 3[link] just for the case of S-walls separating the domain pairs of the `R-semi-planar' types

Lattice parameters f Mathematical equation S-wall orientation
Mathematical equation 1 Mathematical equation (011)
Mathematical equation Mathematical equation (001)
Mathematical equation 0 Mathematical equation (010)
Mathematical equation 1 Mathematical equation (011)

3.4. PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-crossed'

We will demonstrate the derivation of the PDWs connecting the representative domain pair Mathematical equation and obtain similar results for all the other pairs of this type analogously. Using the last column of Table 1[link] and equations (6),[link]

Mathematical equation

Here we introduce the following notation:

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

The eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the Mathematical equation can be found as Mathematical equation, 0, Mathematical equation,

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, the corresponding eigenvalues of Mathematical equation are Mathematical equation with

Mathematical equation

It is straightforward to see that the orthogonal matrix of eigenvectors of Mathematical equation (as well as Mathematical equation) can be expressed as

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, two PDWs normal to the vectors Mathematical equation Mathematical equation) exist:

Mathematical equation

As for the cases of DWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-sibling' and `R-semi-planar', W-type and S-type DWs are present here. In addition, some favorable cases (Table 5[link]) of the lattice parameters turn the S-type of PDW into the PDW with rational Miller indices.

Table 5
The same as Table 3[link] just for the case of S-walls separating the domain pairs of the `R-semi-crossed' type

Lattice parameters p Mathematical equation S-wall orientation
Mathematical equation 2 Mathematical equation (111)
Mathematical equation 0 Mathematical equation (100)
Mathematical equation Mathematical equation (011)

3.5. PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-crossed'

We will show that the corresponding domain pairs of this type do not generally have any PDWs. Indeed, we can attempt to find such for the case of the representative pair of domains M32 M23. According to the last column of Table 1[link] and equations (6)[link] we get

Mathematical equation

The determinant of Mathematical equation can be calculated as

Mathematical equation

Accordingly, this pair of domains may connect along the PDW if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

Mathematical equation

or

Mathematical equation

These conditions are generally not fulfilled and therefore we can consider domain pairs of the type `crossed' not compatible. The special conditions under which domain pairs may connect could be the subject of future work.

4. The change of polarization direction across the domain walls

The SPD changes across any DW. This section demonstrates the calculation of the change of the SPD projection on the DW normal. Such a change is numerically equal to the surface density of electric charge at the wall (Jackson, 2007View full citation). We will consider that each ferroelastic domain mn may host spontaneous polarization Mathematical equation or Mathematical equation (the coordinates of the vectors Mathematical equation are defined in Table 1[link]). Accordingly, the specific pair of domains m1n1 and m2n2 may meet along a DW that switches SPD according to the configuration Mathematical equation (+) or Mathematical equation (−). We will see which of these configurations ensures zero (or minimal) charge at the corresponding DW using equations (14)[link], (19)[link], (26)[link], (33)[link] for the normal to the DW of each type. Table 6[link] summarizes the results. It shows that uncharged DWs occur in the following cases:

Table 6
The change of the SPD across each of the DWs described above

The first column contains the type of domain pair. The second column contains the PDW Miller indices. The third column contains the domain numbers m1n1 | m2n2 meeting along the wall. The fourth column contains the sign involved in the connection: the sign + means e.g. Mathematical equation, the sign − stands for e.g. Mathematical equation. The fifth column contains the projection of the Mathematical equation to the DW normal. The last column shows the angles between the corresponding SPDs as defined in Table 2[link] and at ρ = 0.

Type Orientation Domain pair Sign Projection Mathematical equation (°)
RSB Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 180
RSB Mathematical equation Mathematical equation + Mathematical equation 0
RP Mathematical equation Mathematical equation x 109
RP Mathematical equation Mathematical equation + 2 71
RSP Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 1 109
RSP Mathematical equation Mathematical equation + f 71
RSC Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation 109
RSC Mathematical equation Mathematical equation + Mathematical equation 71

(i) W- and S-type `R-sibling' PDWs change SPD by nearly 180 or 0°, respectively.

(ii) (100)- and (011)-`R-planar' PDWs change SPD by 109 and 71°, respectively.

(iii) W- and S-type `R-semi-planar' PDWs change SPD by 109 and 71°, respectively.

(iv) W- and S-type `R-semi-crossed' PDWs change SPD by 71 and 109°, respectively.

These results have significant implications, particularly in the context of describing the DW motion under external electric fields and assessing the role of the specifically connected domain pair in the extrinsic contribution to the electromechanical coupling (Pramanick et al., 2011View full citation; Jones et al., 2006View full citation; Tutuncu et al., 2016View full citation; Gorfman et al., 2020View full citation). Indeed, this contribution hinges on the orientation of the SPD with respect to the electric field: domains with positive/negative projection of the SPD to the applied electric field would expand/contract, respectively. Consequently, comprehending the SPD's orientation and its change across the DW is pivotal.

5. Derivation of the transformation matrices and the separation between Bragg peaks

5.1. General expressions

After calculating the indices of PDWs, connecting the specific pair of domains, it is also possible to calculate the orientation relationship between domains and separation of Bragg peaks diffracted from them. Full details of these calculations are presented by Gorfman et al. (2022View full citation) and briefly summarized here. The matrix of transformation Mathematical equation between the basis vectors of the domains m and n is defined as Mathematical equation). This matrix can be calculated according to

Mathematical equation

Here

Mathematical equation

The sign ± before Z31 is used for the cases when the PDW normal is Mathematical equation, respectively. The coefficients y1 and y2 can be calculated according to

Mathematical equation

with [Gm,n(W)] being defined as

Mathematical equation

Similarly, the matrix of transformation Mathematical equation between the reciprocal basis vectors of the domains m and n is defined as Mathematical equation and can be calculated according to

Mathematical equation

We can use (42)[link] to calculate the separation between the Bragg peaks H, K, L so that

Mathematical equation

5.2. Simplifications

Equations (38)[link] and (42)[link] can be used to obtain the elements of Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation numerically. However, we will show that reasonable approximation leads to more visually appealing analytical expressions. Let us notice that the right-hand side of (40)[link] can be derived from the elements 13 and 23 of the matrix Mathematical equation. Considering that the columns of the matrix [V] are the eigenvectors of Mathematical equation with the eigenvectors of Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation, respectively, we can write

Mathematical equation

Here, the same sign as in equation (39)[link] is implemented instead of ±. Using (44)[link] we can rewrite (40)[link] as

Mathematical equation

We will now consider the second term in the right side of equation (41)[link] Mathematical equation is proportional to the parameters of monoclinic distortion A, B, C [see equation (6)[link]] and therefore it is much smaller than the first term Mathematical equation. Accordingly, we can rewrite (41)[link] in the form

Mathematical equation

Considering (46)[link] we can rewrite (45)[link] as

Mathematical equation

Substituting (47)[link] into (38)[link] and (42)[link] we get

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

Using the notations Mathematical equation for the case of signs + and − in front of Mathematical equation, respectively, we can see that (48)[link], (49)[link] lead to

Mathematical equation

5.3. The case of domain pairs of the type `R-sibling'

We will now apply (48)[link] and (49)[link] for PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type R-sibling. The corresponding transformation matrices Mathematical equation are marked explicitly as Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. According to (12)[link] we obtain Mathematical equation = Mathematical equation. Substituting (13)[link] into (48)[link] and using (50)[link] we get

Mathematical equation

Using (43)[link] and (50)[link] we can obtain the separation between the Bragg peaks diffracted from the corresponding pair of domains as

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

As mentioned by Gorfman et al. (2022View full citation), the three-dimensional separation between the Bragg peaks diffracted from a pair of connected domains is parallel to the DW normal.

5.4. The case of domain pairs of the type `R-planar'

Similarly, for the case of domain pairs of the type `R-planar', the corresponding transformation matrices Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation are marked explicitly as Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. According to (17)[link] Mathematical equation. Substituting (18)[link] into (48)[link] and using (50)[link] we obtain

Mathematical equation

Equivalently we will obtain the following expression for the separation of Bragg peaks:

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

5.5. The case of domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar'

The corresponding transformation matrices Mathematical equation are then marked explicitly as Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. According to (24)[link] Mathematical equation. Substituting (25)[link] into (48)[link] and using (50)[link]:

Mathematical equation

The separation of Bragg peaks diffracted from the correspondingly connected domain pairs is

Mathematical equation

and

Mathematical equation

5.6. The case of domain pairs of the type `R-semi-crossed'

The corresponding transformation matrices Mathematical equation are marked explicitly as Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation. According to (31)[link] Mathematical equation. Substituting (32)[link] into (48)[link] and using (50)[link]:

Mathematical equation

The separation of the Bragg peaks diffracted from the domains, meeting along the DW normal to Mathematical equation is

Mathematical equation

and for the case of Mathematical equation

Mathematical equation

5.7. Summarizing tables

The previous paragraphs demonstrated how to derive key quantities such as Miller indices, the orientation relationship between the lattice basis vectors, and the separation of Bragg peaks for representative domain pairs only. Similar equations can be derived for all the other domain pairs. The tables and figures below list the corresponding quantities for all 84 existing PDWs. The full list includes:

(i) 24 PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-sibling', including 12 W- and 12 S-walls.

(ii) 12 PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-planar'. All of them are W-walls.

(iii) 24 PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar', including 12 W-walls and 12 S-walls.

(iv) 24 PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-crossed', including 12 W-walls and 12 S-walls.

The list of 84 PDWs contains 36 S-walls and 48 W-walls as listed in Tables 7[link], 8[link], 9[link], 10[link]. Each row of these tables contains domain pair number, the Miller indices of the PDW, the matrix of transformation Mathematical equation between the corresponding basis vectors and the separation of Bragg peaks H, K, L diffracted from this pair of domains.

Table 7
Summary of 24 PDWs connecting domain pairs of the R-sibling type

The first column contains the PDW number, while the second and third columns contain the domain identifiers based on Fig. 1[link] and Table 1[link]. The fourth column displays the Miller indices of the PDW. The fifth column contains the transformation matrix between the basis vectors of the domain m1n1 and the basis vectors of the domain m2n2. The last column contains the separation between the Bragg peaks with the indices H, K, L diffracted from these domains.

N Mm1n1 Mm2n2 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
1 M11 M12 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
2 M11 M12 (rr2) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
3 M11 M13 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
4 M11 M13 (r2r) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
5 M12 M13 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
6 M12 M13 (2rr) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
7 M21 M22 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
8 M21 M22 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
9 M21 M23 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
10 M21 M23 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
11 M22 M23 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
12 M22 M23 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
13 M31 M32 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
14 M31 M32 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
15 M31 M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
16 M31 M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
17 M32 M33 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
18 M32 M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
19 M41 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
20 M41 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
21 M41 M43 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
22 M41 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
23 M42 M43 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
24 M42 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation

Table 8
The same as Table 7[link] but for the case of PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-planar'

N Mm1n1 Mm2n2 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation (Mathematical equation) Mathematical equation (Mathematical equation)
25 M11 M21 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
26 M11 M21 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
27 M12 M32 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
28 M12 M32 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
29 M13 M43 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
30 M13 M43 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
31 M23 M33 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
32 M23 M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
33 M22 M42 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
34 M22 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
35 M31 M41 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
36 M31 M41 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation

Table 9
The same as Table 7[link] but for the case of PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar'

N Mm1n1 Mm2n2 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation (Mathematical equation) [Mathematical equation] (Mathematical equation)
37 M12 M22 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
38 M12 M22 (01f) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
39 M13 M23 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
40 M13 M23 (0f1) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
41 M11 M31 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
42 M11 M31 (10f) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
43 M13 M33 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
44 M13 M33 (f01) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
45 M11 M41 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
46 M11 M41 (1f0) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
47 M12 M42 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
48 M12 M42 (f10) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
49 M21 M31 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
50 M21 M31 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
51 M22 M32 (001) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
52 M22 M32 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
53 M21 M41 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
54 M21 M41 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
55 M23 M43 (010) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
56 M23 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
57 M32 M42 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
58 M32 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
59 M33 M43 (100) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
60 M33 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation

Table 10
The same as Table 7[link] but for the case of PDWs connecting domain pairs of the type `R-semi-crossed'

N Mm1n1 Mm2n2 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
61 M12 M23 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
62 M12 M23 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
63 M13 M22 (011) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
64 M13 M22 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
65 M11 M33 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
66 M11 M33 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
67 M13 M31 (101) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
68 M13 M31 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
69 M11 M42 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
70 M11 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
71 M12 M41 (110) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
72 M12 M41 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
73 M21 M32 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
74 M21 M32 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
75 M22 M31 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
76 M22 M31 (pp2) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
77 M21 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
78 M21 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
79 M23 M41 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
80 M23 M41 (p2p) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
81 M32 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
82 M32 M43 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
83 M33 M42 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation
84 M33 M42 (2pp) Mathematical equation Mathematical equation

Tables 7[link], 8[link], 9[link], 10[link] reveal that certain W-walls have the same orientations. For instance, all domain pairs of the type `R-planar' M11M21,M31M41 and all domain pairs of the type `R-semi-planar', M12,M22, M13,M23 have (100)-oriented PDWs. Table 11[link] presents all the distinct PDW orientations and their relevant details. It reveals that all the PDWs belong to five orientation families {100}, {110}, {2rr}, {10f}, {2pp}, so that PDWs of 45 distinct orientations are present. Furthermore, the table demonstrates the distribution of PDWs based on the pair type and the angle between the polarization directions. It indicates that 84 PDWs are classified into 12 DWs, 30 DWs, 30 DWs, 12 DWs with the angles between SPDs close to 0, 71, 109 and 180°, respectively.

Table 11
The orientation families of PDWs and their distribution between DWs of different types

The first column contains the identifier of the family where {} indicate the list of m3m-equivalent orientations, e.g. {110} means the list of (011), (101), (110), (011), (101) and (011). The second column contains the number of different orientations. The third column contains the number of PDWs of the specific orientation family. The remaining columns show the distribution of these PDWs according to the pair type and the `zero-charge' angle between polarization directions.

Mathematical equation M N walls N0 Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation Mathematical equation N180
Mathematical equation 3 18 6 12
Mathematical equation 6 30 6 12 12
Mathematical equation 12 12 12
Mathematical equation 12 12 12
Mathematical equation 12 12 12
All walls 45 84 12   30     30   12

Fig. 7[link] displays the orientation of all the PDWs for different choices of lattice parameters. The normal vectors to these walls are shown using the poles on the stereographic projection. The W-walls are marked by the poles with a solid line edge and the color of the pole reflects the angle between the SPDs being close to 0, 71, 109 and 180° (as specified in the last column of Table 5[link]). Each stereographic projection, from left to right, shows DWs between the domain pairs of the types `R-sibling', `R-planar', `R-semi-planar' and `R-semi-crossed'. The supporting information includes the animated version of this figure showing how the orientation of these DWs changes with the lattice parameters.

[Figure 7]
Figure 7
The orientation of the DW is normal for all the PDWs which connect domain pairs of the R-sibling, R-planar, R-semi-planar and R-semi-crossed types, with 45 different orientations in total. These orientations are distributed among five different orientation families. The normals are shown using the poles on the stereographic projection viewed along the direction [001] with the poles corresponding to the W-walls framed by a solid line. The lattice parameters are chosen arbitrarily. The supporting information includes animated versions of the same figure for different values of the monoclinic lattice parameters.

6. Conclusion

We have applied the theory of PDWs to create a list of 84 PDWs connecting ferroelastic domains of monoclinic (Cm/Cc) symmetry. Our list includes analytical expressions for the Miller indices of the PDWs, matrices of transformation between the corresponding pseudocubic basis vectors and expressions for the reciprocal-space separation between the corresponding Bragg peak pairs. The 84 PDWs can have 45 different orientations and are grouped into five orientational families.

Our derivation of this list assumed that the two-step transition from the cubic (Mathematical equation phase to the monoclinic (Cm/Cc) phase results in the formation of 12 ferroelastic monoclinic domains. The first step of this transition (from the cubic to the rhombohedral R3m/R3c phase) results in the formation of four ferroelastic domains, while the second step (from the rhombohedral to the monoclinic phase) splits each of them into groups of three monoclinic domains. We identified five different types of domain pairs (referred to here as `R-sibling', `R-planar', `R-semi-planar', `R-semi-crossed' and `R-crossed'), each with its own expression for the PDW orientation. As shown in previous works (Fousek & Janovec, 1969View full citation; Sapriel, 1975View full citation), we found that the crystallographic orientation/Miller indices of PDWs can be fixed (for the so-called W-walls) or depend on the values of the monoclinic lattice parameters (for the so-called S-walls). We found that the orientation of such walls can be controlled by the three simple parameters Mathematical equation, Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation.

We have demonstrated that the rotatable domain walls can be described by the Miller indices {2rr}, {10f}, {2pp}. Even a small change in the monoclinic distortion (such as Mathematical equation) can cause a significant rotation of the PDW. This process is often referred to as `thermal switching'. Furthermore, we have predicted the angles between polarization directions for the cases when DWs are not charged.

The results of this work can be useful in several different ways. First, the availability of simple analytical expressions (Tables 7[link]–10[link]) for the orientation of DWs can help in describing the domain switching through DW rotation or DW motion. Such a process can be induced by the change of the temperature or external electric field, for example. Second, the expressions for the separation between Bragg peaks (Tables 7[link]–10[link]) can help investigate monoclinic domain patterns, using `single-crystal' X-ray diffraction. Third, the expressions may be useful for the precise calculation of the angles between SPDs of various domains. Such angles can be easily evaluated using the corresponding matrices of transformation between the domain basis vectors in Tables 7[link]–10[link].

The results have significant importance in the analysis of domains within crystals and epitaxial thin films. Indeed, the observation of monoclinic domains in epitaxial thin films is common (see e.g. Schmidbauer et al., 2017View full citation; Gaal et al., 2023View full citation) where one or another type of monoclinic distortion is stabilized by the substrate–film lattice mismatch. Modulating this mismatch can influence the monoclinic lattice parameters and, consequently, the orientation of PDWs between them. It is worth highlighting that certain distinctions may arise due to variations in the number of monoclinic domains present. In the case of `free-standing' single crystals, the phase transition sequence from cubic to rhombohedral to monoclinic ideally results in the presence of 12 equivalent domains. However, introducing bias at any of these transitional stages can alter this configuration. For instance, the application of an electric field along the pseudocubic [111] direction during the cubic-to-rhombohedral phase transition may lead to the formation of just one rhombohedral domain instead of the expected four. Subsequently, the rhombohedral-to-monoclinic transition further divides this domain into three monoclinic domains. Consequently, in such scenarios, only `R-sibling' domain pairs, connected by six PDWs, must be considered. The presence of the substrate can bias or suppress the formation of specific domains, such as favoring the presence of domain pairs of the R-sibling type exclusively, and this, in turn, can impact the number of PDWs. A detailed characterization of PDWs in relation to the origin of these domains can prove useful for cataloging the potential PDWs existing between thin film domains or in other cases when formation of domains is biased or engineered.

Finally, this article describes the PDWs between monoclinic domains of MA/MB type. A similar formalism for the monoclinic MC symmetry case will be presented in a follow-up publication.

APPENDIX A

The list of notations and most important crystallographic relationships

This paper uses the notations from Gorfman et al. (2022View full citation). For the convenience of the reader, the most important of them are also summarized here.

Basis vectors: Mathematical equation are the basis vectors of a crystal lattice. The second index refers to the ferroelastic domain variant m. Mathematical equation corresponds to the crystal lattice of the higher-symmetry (e.g. cubic) `parent' phase (Fig. 1[link]). The parallelepiped based on the vectors Mathematical equation forms a unit cell.

Unit-cell settings: many unit-cell settings exist for the same lattice (Gorfman, 2020View full citation). Here, we prefer the cell settings Mathematical equation (Mathematical equation obtained by the smallest possible distortion/rotation of the parent-phase basis vectors Mathematical equation.

Metric tensor/matrix of dot products: Mathematical equation is the metric tensor (Giacovazzo, 1992View full citation; Hahn, 2005View full citation). The corresponding 3 × 3 matrix [G]m is the matrix of dot products for the domain variant m. Their determinants are Mathematical equation ( VA is the unit-cell volume).

The transformation matrix: the transformation e.g. from the basis vectors Mathematical equation to the basis vectors Mathematical equation is defined by the 3 × 3 transformation matrix [S]. The columns of the matrix [S] are the coordinates of Mathematical equation with respect to Mathematical equation:

Mathematical equation

Transformation of the metric tensor: the transformation of the basis vectors (63)[link] leads to the following transformation of the corresponding metric tensors:

Mathematical equation

This relationship can be extended to any cases of transformation between coordinate systems.

The difference transformation matrix is defined as the difference between [S] and the unitary matrix [I]:

Mathematical equation

Twinning matrix: [T] represents a symmetry operation of the parent-phase lattice (i.e. the one built using the basis vectors Mathematical equation) that is no longer the symmetry operation of a ferroelastic phase lattice. We define [T] as a 3 × 3 matrix, which describes the transformation to the coordinate system Mathematical equation from its symmetry equivalent Mathematical equation using the following formal matrix equation:

Mathematical equation

The number of symmetry-equivalent coordinate systems is equal to the order of the holohedry point symmetry group (e.g. 48 for a cubic lattice). The transition from a paraelastic to a ferroelastic phase is associated with the distortion of the basis vectors Mathematical equation. Such a distortion, however, can commence from any of the symmetry-equivalent Mathematical equation. Let us assume that Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation serve as the starting points for domain variants m and n, correspondingly. The following relationship between [Gn] and [Gm] exists:

Mathematical equation

Reciprocal basis vectors: the superscript * refers to the reciprocal bases, e.g. Mathematical equation are such that Mathematical equation. The reciprocal metric tensor is Mathematical equation. The relationship Mathematical equation holds.

Transformation between the reciprocal basis vectors: if the direct basis vectors (e.g. Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation) are related by the matrix [S] [according to equation (63)[link]], then the corresponding reciprocal-lattice vectors (Mathematical equation and Mathematical equation) are related by the matrix [S*]. The following relationship between [S] and Mathematical equation holds:

Mathematical equation

The difference transformation matrix between the reciprocal basis vectors is defined according to the equation

Mathematical equation

Supporting information


Funding information

The following funding is acknowledged: Israel Science Foundation (grant Nos. 1561/18, 3455/21, 1365/23 to Semën Gorfman); United States – Israel Binational Science Foundation (award No. 2018161 to Semën Gorfman).

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