Virginia TechBai, FeimingLi, JiefangViehland, Dwight D.2014-02-032014-02-032004-11-01Bai, FM; Li, JF; Viehland, D., "Polarization switching in (001)-oriented Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-x%PbTiO3 crystals: Direct observation of heterogeneous nucleation by piezoreponse force microscopy," Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 4457 (2004); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.18199930003-6951http://hdl.handle.net/10919/25267Polarization 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.application/pdfen-USIn CopyrightElectromechanical propertiesMonoclinic phaseSingle crystalsKineticsTitanateFerroelectricsCeramicsSymmetryStressPhysicsArticle - Refereedhttp://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/85/19/10.1063/1.1819993https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1819993