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Surface Domain Structures and Mesoscopic Phase Transition in Relaxor Ferroelectrics
Author(s) -
Kholkin Andrei,
Morozovska Anna,
Kiselev Dmitry,
Bdikin Igor,
Rodriguez Brian,
Wu Pingping,
Bokov Alexei,
Ye ZuoGuang,
Dkhil Brahim,
Chen LongQing,
Kosec Marija,
Kalinin Sergei V.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201002582
Subject(s) - mesoscopic physics , materials science , condensed matter physics , ferroelectricity , piezoresponse force microscopy , phase transition , polarization (electrochemistry) , electric field , physics , quantum mechanics , dielectric , optoelectronics , chemistry
Relaxor ferroelectrics are a prototypical example of ferroic systems in which interplay between atomic disorder and order parameters gives rise to emergence of unusual properties, including non‐exponential relaxations, memory effects, polarization rotations, and broad spectrum of bias‐ and temperature‐induced phase transitions. Despite more than 40 years of extensive research following the original discovery of ferroelectric relaxors by the Smolensky group, the most basic aspect of these materials – the existence and nature of order parameter – has not been understood thoroughly. Using extensive imaging and spectroscopic studies by variable‐temperature and time resolved piezoresponse force microscopy, we find that the observed mesoscopic behavior is consistent with the presence of two effective order parameters describing dynamic and static parts of polarization, respectively. The static component gives rise to rich spatially ordered systems on the ∼100 nm length scales, and are only weakly responsive to electric field. The surface of relaxors undergoes a mesoscopic symmetry breaking leading to the freezing of polarization fluctuations and shift of corresponding transition temperature.