VTechWorks staff will be away for the Thanksgiving holiday starting Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 25, through Sunday Nov. 29, and will not be replying to requests during this time. Thank you for your patience.
Polarization switching in (001)-oriented Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-x%PbTiO3 crystals: Direct observation of heterogeneous nucleation by piezoreponse force microscopy
Abstract
Polarization switching in (001)-oriented Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-x%PbTiO3, PMN-x%PT, crystals for x=20 and 35 has been investigated in situ by scanning force microscopy in a piezoresponse mode, under a step-increased dc electrical voltage (V-dc). The results demonstrate that switching initiates by the nucleation of nanosized polar regions with a reversed polarization. For x=20, nucleation occurs heterogeneously throughout the volume of the crystal. However, with increasing PT content, nucleation tends to preferentially initiate near preexisting twin boundaries; with increasing V-dc, the domains becoming increasingly "diffuse" due to heterogeneous nucleation and growth throughout the crystal. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.