Direct observation of the recovery of an antiferroelectric phase during polarization reversal of an induced ferroelectric phase

Hanzheng Guo and Xiaoli Tan

Phys. Rev. B 91, 144104 – Published 10 April 2015

Abstract

Electric fields are generally known to favor the ferroelectric polar state over the antiferroelectric nonpolar state for their Coulomb interactions with dipoles in the crystal. In this paper, we directly image an electric-field-assisted ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase transition during polarization reversal of the ferroelectric phase in polycrystalline $P b_{0.99} {N b_{0.02} {[{(Z r_{0.57} S n_{0.43})}_{0.92} T i_{0.08}]}_{0.98}} O_{3}$ . With the electric-field in situ transmission electron microscopy technique, such an unlikely phenomenon is verified to occur by both domain morphology change and electron-diffraction analysis. The slower kinetics of the phase transition, compared with ferroelectric polarization reversal, is suggested to contribute to this unusual behavior.

Received 12 January 2015
Revised 30 March 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.144104

Authors & Affiliations

Hanzheng Guo and Xiaoli Tan^*

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

^*Corresponding author: xtan@iastate.edu

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Issue

Vol. 91, Iss. 14 — 1 April 2015

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Images

Figure 1
(a) Dielectric properties of a bulk polycrystalline PNZST 43/8.0/2 specimen measured at 1 kHz and 3 °C/min during heating and cooling. The anomalies at −8 °C and 43 °C are indicated by the dashed vertical lines. (b) The first two cycles of the polarization ( $P$ ) vs electric field ( $E$ ) hysteresis loops from a bulk polycrystalline PNZST 43/8.0/2 specimen measured at room temperature and 4 Hz. The data points in red are from the first quarter cycle of the applied field.
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Figure 2
Typical microstructures of the polycrystalline PNZST 43/8.0/2 recorded under the $[001]$ zone axis. (a) TEM bright field micrograph of a grain of the AFE phase, (b) its corresponding electron-diffraction pattern, (c) a grain with mixed FE and AFE phases, and (d) a close examination of the AFE/FE interface.
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Figure 3
Electric-field-induced AFE-to-FE phase transition in polycrystalline PNZST 43/8.0/2. (a) Replotted $P$ vs $E$ loop in Fig. 1 for the part in the first quadrant. The red open circles on the curve, marked as $Z_{0} - Z_{4}$ , correspond to the applied field levels where bright field images and electron-diffraction patterns are recorded during the in situ TEM experiment. (b), (e), (h), (i), and (l) Bright field micrographs of a $[001]$ -oriented grain at electric fields corresponding to $Z_{0} - Z_{4}$ , respectively. The magnification marker in (b) is applicable to other micrographs as well. The dark arrow in (e) indicates the direction of the applied fields. (c), (d), (f), (g), (j), and (k) $[001]$ zone-axis electron-diffraction patterns recorded from selected areas marked by the bright circles as D1–D6, respectively. The indexing of the diffraction spot is exemplified in (j).
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Figure 4
Direct visualization of the recovery of the AFE phase during polarization reversal of the induced FE phase in the same $[001]$ -oriented grain as in Fig. 3. (a) Replotted $P$ vs $E$ loop in Fig. 1 for the part in the second and the third quadrants. The red open circles on the curve, marked as $Z_{5} - Z_{8}$ , correspond to the applied field levels where bright field images and electron-diffraction patterns are recorded during the in situ TEM experiment. (b), (e), (h), and (k) Bright field micrographs of the grain at electric fields corresponding to $Z_{5} - Z_{8}$ , respectively. The magnification marker in (b) is applicable to other micrographs as well. The bright arrow in (e) indicates the direction of the applied fields. (c), (d), (f), (g), (i), and (j) $[001]$ zone-axis electron-diffraction patterns recorded from selected areas marked by the bright circles as D7–D12, respectively. The indexing of the diffraction spot is exemplified in (j).
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