Cubic relaxors

Classical relaxors [22,23] are perovskite soUd solutions like PbMgi/3Nb2/303 (PMN), which exhibit both site and charge disorder resulting in random fields in addition to random bonds. In contrast to dipolar glasses where the elementary dipole moments exist on the atomic scale, the relaxor state is characterized by the presence of polar clusters of nanometric size. The dynamical properties of relaxor ferroelectrics are determined by the presence of these polar nanoclusters [24]. PMN remains cubic to the lowest temperatures measured. One expects that the disorder -type dynamics found in the cubic phase of BaTiOs, characterized by two timescales, is somehow translated into the... 

The relaxor transition in cubic perovskite relaxors (PMN, PSN and PST) and tungsten bronze relaxor (SBN) has been studied by NMR.85 The observed spectra consist of a narrow central transition superimposed on a broad back-... 

Ceramic PLZT has a number of structures, depending upon composition, and can show both the Pockels (linear) electro-optic effect in the ferroelectric rhombohedral and tetragonal phases and the Kerr (quadratic) effect in the cubic paraelectric state. Because of the ceramic nature of the material, the non-cubic phases show no birefringence in the as-prepared state and must be poled to become useful electro-optically (Section 6.4.1). PMN-PT and PZN-PT are relaxor ferroelectrics. These have an isotropic structure in the absence of an electric field, but this is easily altered in an applied electric field to give a birefringent electro-optic material. All of these phases, with optimised compositions, have much higher electro-optic coefficients than LiNb03 and are actively studied for device application. 

Figures 1 and 2 respectively show the temperature dependence of the relative permittivity and loss tangent of relaxor ferroelectric PLZT (9.5/65/35). As the temperature increases from -60°C to 100°C, the relative permittivity generally increased due to the unfreezing of domains. Between 0°C and 10°C, a broad peak can be seen in the lower frequency curves. This peak corresponds to the diffuse phase transition in this relaxor ceramic from the ferroelectric to the paraelectric state (also called the relaxor phase). Further heating continued to increase the relative dielectric permittivity until a maximum was achieved, at which point, the crystal s structure became cubic. This maximum in the permittivity, which is frequency dependent, occurs at the Curie temperature. Evidence of these phase transitions can also be seen in the loss tangent graph in figure 2.

Since the relaxor PLZT compositions used in this study have a cubic crystal structure at room temperature, the expectation is that the strain generated should be mostly quadratic, especially if no dc bias is applied. Figure 5 shows the Fourier-transformed displacement amplitude as a function of frequency for a PLZT (9.5/65/35) ceramic under a combination of both ac and dc bias electric fields. As expected, several frequency peaks are seen this indicates that the material is vibrating at harmonic frequencies to the applied field. 

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