[[V001/JSI/Arhiv|{{attachment:Rubrike/T890.jpg|News Archive|width="350px"}}|&do=get]]

Researchers from the Department of Electronic Ceramics together with colleagues from the University of Vilnius published an [[https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp0895|article]] in the journal of Science Advances. The paper addresses the key question of the origin(s) of the unusually high piezoelectric responses in the PMN–PT ceramic system modified with samarium ions. While previously published studies report on various mechanisms, they usually do so in the context of the so-called "universal" mechanisms, which are typically focused on a single aspect of the material. Using a combination of nonlinear piezoelectric harmonic analysis and structural analysis over multiple length scales, the authors concluded that the high piezoelectric response cannot be attributed exclusively to a single mechanism. A coherent picture can only be achieved by combining various intrinsic and extrinsic dynamic contributions and by taking into account the complex influence of the samarium dopant on the local and average structure of the material. The paper also emphasizes the strong pressure in the research community to publish scientific papers with high-profile "universal" explanations.