Domain switching in polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramics

Abstract

Ferroelectric ceramics are widely used as sensors and actuators for their electro-mechanical properties, and in electronic applications for their dielectric properties. Domain switching--the phenomenon wherein the ferroelectric material changes from one spontaneously polarized state to another under electrical or mechanical loads--is an important attribute of these materials. However, this is a complex collective process in commercially used polycrystalline ceramics that are agglomerations of a very large number of variously oriented grains. As the domains in one grain attempt to switch, they are constrained by the differently oriented neighbouring grains. Here we use a combined theoretical and experimental approach to establish a relation between crystallographic symmetry and the ability of a ferroelectric polycrystalline ceramic to switch. In particular, we show that equiaxed polycrystals of materials that are either tetragonal or rhombohedral cannot switch; yet polycrystals of materials where these two symmetries co-exist can in fact switch.

The missing boundary in the phase diagram of PbZr1−xTixO3

“…On the basis of this assumption, Glazer et al 23 further proposed that the different average structures of PZT (R, M and T) could all be described in terms of local monoclinic ordering. Near the MPB region, the formation and the growth of these nanoscale regions may then account for the enhanced piezoactivity, in support of a domain-controlled contribution to the high piezoelectric properties 24,25 .…”

Nonlinear stress-strain behavior and stress-induced phase transitions in soft Pb(Zr1−xTix)OSeo1, Franzbach2, Koruza3 et al. 2013Phys. Rev. B496261View full textAdd to dashboardCite

“…[1][2][3] PZT, however, displays nonlinear ferroelectric and ferroelastic behavior during electrical 4 and mechanical 5,6 loading, respectively, resulting in hysteretic macroscopic polarization and strain loops. There have been numerous experimental investigations on the nonlinear ferroelastic stress-strain behavior of PZT-based ceramics, [5][6][7][8][9][10] in addition to other ferroelastic ceramics. [11][12][13][14] It has been demonstrated that the ferroelastic behavior of PZT is influenced by the composition, dopant type and concentration, and temperature.…”

Collective Coherent Control: Synchronization of Polarization in FerroelectricPbTiO3by Shaped THz Fields

“…A particularly important aspect is domain switching, the process of reorienting part or all of a domain so that its macroscopic polarization points in a different direction. We and others [10][11][12][13][14] have sought to illuminate how microscopic interatomic interactions affect the rate and mechanism of ferroelectric domain switching.…”