Review of ionospheric irregularities and ionospheric electrodynamic coupling in the middle latitude region

This paper briefly reviews ionospheric irregularities that occur in the E and F regions at mid-latitudes. Sporadic E(ES) is a common ionospheric irregularity phenomenon that is first noticed in the E layer. ES mainly appears during daytime in summer hemispheres, and is formed primarily from neutral wind shear in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere(MLT) region. Field-aligned irregularity(FAI) in the E region is also observed by Very High Frequency(VHF) radar in mid-latitude regions. FAI frequently occurs after sunset in summer hemispheres, and spectrum features of E region FAI echoes suggest that type-2 irregularity is dominant in the nighttime ionosphere. A close relationship between ES and E region FAI implies that ES may be a possible source of E region FAI in the nighttime ionosphere. Strong neutral wind shear, steep ES plasma density gradient, and a polarized electric field are the significant factors affecting the formation of E region FAI. At mid-latitudes, joint observational experiments including ionosonde, VHF radar, Global Positioning System(GPS) stations, and all-sky optical images have revealed strong connections across different scales of ionospheric irregularities in the nighttime F region, such as spread F(SF), medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances(MSTID), and F region FAI.Observations suggest that different scales of ionospheric irregularities are generally attributed to the Perkins instability and subsequently excited gradient drift instability. Nighttime MSTID can further evolve into small-scale structures through a nonlinear cascade process when a steep plasma density gradient exists at the bottom of the F region. In addition, the effect of ionospheric electrodynamic coupling processes, including ionospheric E-F coupling and inter-hemispheric coupling on the generation of ionospheric irregularities, becomes more prominent due to the significant dip angle and equipotentiality of magnetic field lines in the mid-latitude ionosphere. Polarized electric fields can map to different ionospheric regions and excite plasma instabilities which form ionospheric irregularities. Nevertheless,the mapping efficiency of a polarized electric field depends on the ionospheric background and spatial scale of the field.

High piezoelectricity after field cooling AC poling in temperature stable ternary single crystals manufactured by continuous-feeding Bridgman method

After field cooling(FC)alternating current poling(ACP),we investigated the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of[001]_(pc)-oriented 0.24Pb(In_(1/2)Nb_(1/2))O_(3)(PIN)-0.46Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_(3)(PMN)-0.30PbTiO3(PT)(PIMN-0.30PT)single crystals(SCs),which were manufactured by continuous-feeding Bridgman(CF BM)within morphotropic phase boundary(MPB)region.By ACP with 4 kVrms/cm from 100 to 70℃,the PIMN-0.30PT SC attained high dielectric permittivity of 8330,piezoelectric coefficient(d_(33))of 2750 pC/N,bar mode electromechanical coupling factorκ_(33)of 0.96 with higher phase change temperature(T_(pc))of 103℃,and high Curie temperature(7c)of 180℃.These values are the highest ever reported as PIMN-xPT SC system with Tpc>100℃.The enhancement of these properties is attributed to the induced low symmetry multi-phase supported by phase analysis.This work indicates that FC ACP is a smart and promising method to enhance piezoelectric properties of relaxor-PT ferroelectric SCs including PIMN-xPT,and provides a route to a wide range of piezoelectric device applications.