Structural phase transformation and phase boundary/stability studies of field-cooled Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-32%PbTiO3 crystals

Structural phase transformations in (001)-oriented (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-32%PbTiO3 crystals have been investigated by x-ray diffraction. A C -> T -> M-C sequence was observed in both the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled conditions. Most interestingly, an anomalous increase in the C -> T phase boundary with increasing field has been observed, which is seemingly a common characteristic of crystals whose compositions are in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary, irrespective of the width of the T and M-C phase regions. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.