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In situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Studies of Electric-field-induced Phenomena in Ferroelectrics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2005

Xiaoli Tan ,
Hui He  and
Jian-Ku Shang
Xiaoli Tan*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011
Hui He
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011
Jian-Ku Shang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

High electric fields were delivered to specimens during imaging in the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) chamber to reveal details of electric field-induced phenomena in ferroelectric oxides. These include the polarization switching in nanometer-sized ferroelectric domains and the grain boundary cavitation in a commercial lead zirconate titanate (PZT) polycrystalline ceramic, the domain wall fracture in a Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 single crystal, and the transformation of incommensurate modulations in Pb0.99Nb0.02[(Zr1−xSnx)1−yTiy]0.98O3 (PZST100x/100y/2) polycrystalline ceramics. In the PZT ceramic, a cavitation process was uncovered for the electric field-induced intergranular fracture. In the ferroelectric single crystal, a preexisting crack was observed to deflect and to follow a 90° domain wall, indicating the presence of severe incompatible piezoelectric strains at thedomain wall. In the antiferroelectric PZST ceramics, the electric field-induced antiferroelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transformation was accompanied with the disappearance of incommensurate modulations.

Keywords

CeramicFerroelectricTransmission electron microscopy (TEM)
Type
Reviews
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 7 , July 2005 , pp. 1641 - 1653
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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