Response of polar nanoregions in 68%Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-32%PbTiO3 to a [001] electric field

TL;DR

This study investigates how an external electric field influences polar nanoregions in a specific relaxor ferroelectric crystal, revealing anisotropic effects on diffuse scattering patterns through neutron measurements.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the anisotropic response of polar nanoregions to electric fields in relaxor ferroelectrics using neutron diffuse scattering.

Findings

Electric field along [001] redistributes polar nanoregions perpendicular to the field.

Diffuse scattering in the (HK0) plane is significantly affected by the field.

No effect of the field observed in the (HOL) and (0KL) zones.

Abstract

We report neutron diffuse scattering measurements on a single crystal of 68%Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-32%PbTiO3. Strong diffuse scattering is observed at low temperatures. An external field applied along the [001] direction affects the diffuse scattering in the (HK0) plane significantly, suggesting a redistribution occurs between polar nanoregions of different polarizations perpendicular to the field. By contrast, the [001] field has no effect on the diffuse scattering in the (HOL) and (0KL) zones.