Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 265701 (2007) [4 pages]Phase Transition at a Nanometer Scale Detected by Acoustic Emission within the Cubic Phase Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 Relaxor FerroelectricsReceived 5 March 2007; published 27 June 2007 Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 (x=4.5%–12%) relaxor ferroelectric crystals have been studied by means of acoustic emission (AE) in the 400–540 K temperature range. An anomalous AE activity independent of the ground state relaxor/morphotropic/ferroelectric crossover has been revealed at around 500 K, and it is associated with the “waterfall” feature related to the existence of polar nanoregions (PNRs). The 500 K AE anomaly is attributed to local martensitelike cubic-to-tetragonal ferroelectric transitions within the PNRs imbedded in a nonpolar (cubic) matrix. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.265701
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.265701
PACS:
64.70.Kb, 62.65.+k, 77.84.Dy
|
|
About | Terms and Conditions | Subscriptions | Search | Help
Use of the American Physical Society websites and journals implies that the user has read and agrees to our Terms and Conditions and any applicable Subscription Agreement. Physical Review®, Physical Review Letters®, Reviews of Modern Physics®, and Physical Review Special Topics® are trademarks of the American Physical Society.