Phase instability induced by polar nanoregions in a relaxor ferroelectric system

Abstract

Local inhomogeneities known as polar nanoregions (PNR) play a key role in governing the dielectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics - a special class of material that exhibits an enormous electromechanical response and is easily polarized with an external field. Using neutron inelastic scattering methods, we show that the PNR can also significantly affect the structural properties of the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-4.5%PbTiO3 (PZN-4.5%PT). A strong interaction is found between the PNR and the propagation of sound waves, i.e. acoustic phonons, the visibility of which can be enhanced with an external electric field. A comparison between acoustic phonons propagating along different directions reveals a large asymmetry in the lattice dynamics that is induced by the PNR. We suggest that a phase instability induced by this PNR-phonon interaction may contribute to the ultrahigh piezoelectric response of this and related relaxor ferroelectric materials. Our results also naturally explain the emergence of the various observed monoclinic phases in these systems.

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Cited by in corpus (25)

• The role of random electric fields in relaxors
• A reassessment of the Burns temperature and its relationship to the diffuse scattering, lattice dynamics, and thermal expansion in the relaxor PMN
• Interplay between static and dynamic polar correlations in relaxor Pb(Mg_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_{3}
• Stabilization of Polar Nano Regions in Pb-free ferroelectrics
• Soft phonon columns on the edge of the Brillouin zone in the relaxor PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3
• Field Dependence of Magnetic Disorder in Nanoparticles
• Competing orders in PZN-xPT and PMN-xPT relaxor ferroelectrics
• Dielectric and electro-mechanic nonlinearities in perovskite oxide ferroelectrics, relaxors and relaxor ferroelectrics
• Tripling energy storage density through order-disorder transition induced polar nanoregions in PbZrO3 thin films by ion implantation
• Evidence for anisotropic polar nanoregions in relaxor PMN: A neutron study of the elastic constants and anomalous TA phonon damping
• A two-component model of the neutron diffuse scattering in the relaxor ferroelectric PZN-4.5%PT
• Deep data mining in a real space: Separation of intertwined electronic responses in a lightly-doped BaFe2As2
• Response of polar nanoregions in 68%Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-32%PbTiO3 to a [001] electric field
• Relaxor ferroelectric behavior and structural aspects of SrNaBi2Nb3O12 ceramics
• Origin of sawtooth domain walls in ferroelectrics
• Spontaneous decay of a soft optical phonon in the relaxor ferroelectric PbMg${}_{1/3}$Nb${}_{2/3}$O${}_3$
• Polaron-mediated spin correlations in metallic and insulating La${}_{1-x}{A}_x$MnO${}_3$ ($A$=Ca, Sr, or Ba)
• Freezing of the local dynamics in the relaxor ferroelectric PZN-4.5PT
• Direct Measurement of Piezoelectric Response around Ferroelectric Domain Walls in Crystals with Engineered Domain Configuration
• Theory of the magnetoeletric effect in a lightly doped high-Tc cuprate
• Origins of large enhancement in electromechanical coupling for nonpolar directions in ferroelectric BaTiO3
• Broadband critical dynamics in disordered lead-based perovskites
• Phonon coupling to dynamic short-range polar order in a relaxor ferroelectric near the morphotropic phase boundary
• Soft Phonon Modes and Diffuse Scattering in Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 Relaxor Ferroelectrics
• Role of Zinc and Niobium in the Giant Piezoelectric Response of PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3