Direct observation of domain wall motion and novel dielectric loss in 0.23Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–0.42Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 crystals

Abstract

Domain wall motion was directly observed at temperatures near to the monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition temperature (T_M–T) in [001]-oriented 0.23Pb(In_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃–0.42Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–0.35PbTiO₃ (0.23PIN–0.42PMN–0.35PT) single crystals using a polarizing light microscope, and evident 90° and 180° domain switches were observed near the Curie temperature (T_C). Two dielectric loss anomalies were observed at temperatures near T_M–T in the [001]-oriented PIN–PMN–PT single crystals, while an additional dielectric loss peak was found at temperatures a few degrees below T_C, which was associated with domain wall motion. Based on the domain structure observations, a domain switching mechanism was proposed to explain the novel dielectric loss peak at several degrees below T_C.