Intermediate ferroelectric orthorhombic and monoclinic MB phases in [110]- electric field cooled Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-30%PbTiO3 crystals

TL;DR

This study investigates how applying an electric field along different crystallographic directions affects phase transformations in PMN-30%PT crystals, revealing unique intermediate phases when the field is along [110].

Contribution

It demonstrates that the phase sequence in field-cooled PMN-30%PT crystals is significantly altered by the electric field direction, revealing intermediate orthorhombic and monoclinic phases.

Findings

Intermediate orthorhombic and monoclinic phases observed along [110] field.

Electric field direction influences phase sequence during cooling.

Distinct phase transformation pathways compared to [001] field.

Abstract

Structural phase transformations of [110] electric field cooled Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-30%PbTiO3 (PMN-30%PT) crystals have been performed by x-ray diffraction in a field-cooled (FC) condition. A phase sequence of cubic(C)-tetragonal(T)-orthorhombic (O)-monoclinic (MB) was found on field-cooling (FC); and a R-MB-O one was observed with increasing field beginning from the zero field-cooled (ZFC) condition at room temperature. The application of the [110] electric field induced a dramatic change in the phase sequence in the FC condition, compared to the corresponding data for PMN-30%PT crystals in a [001] field, which shows that the phase sequence in the FC condition is altered by the crystallographic direction along which a modest electric field (E) is applied. Only when E is applied along [110] are intermediate O and MB phases observed.