Microstructures of coherent phase decomposition near morphotropic phase boundary in lead zirconate titanate

(c) 2007 American Institute of Physics. Microstructures of coherent phase decomposition near morphotropic phase boundary in lead zirconate titanate are investigated by using computer modeling and simulation. The model is based on the recently proposed incoherent equilibrium phase diagram [G. A. Rossetti, Jr. , Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 072912 (2006)] and takes into account the coherency strain energy and electrostatic energy. It reveals characteristic multidomain microstructures, where nanoscale lamellar domains of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases coexist with well-defined crystallographic orientation relationships and produce coherent diffraction effects. The simulated microstructures provide important information for interpretation of diffraction data and identification of phases near morphotropic phase boundary. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.