Polarization switching in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3-5-percent- PbTiO3 crystals

The polarization switching mechanism as a function of crystallographic orientation in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3-5%PbTiO3 (PZN-5%PT) single crystals was investigated using the switching current measurement technique. Both the activation E-field and tire critical pulse width were greater if E-field for polarization switching was applied along the polar axis < 111 > than applied along < 001 >. The sideward growth was dominant in domain switching of < 111 > oriented crystals. The dominance of the nucleation and forward growth behavior was observed in < 001 > oriented crystals. The nucleation probability of reverse polarized domains is expected to be much greater in < 001 > crystals than in < 111 > crystals, being ascribed to the lower projected polarization value along the E-field direction. higher domain wall energy associated with the pseudo-monoclinic structure of domains, and large domain wall density as a consequence of averaged domain configuration. This domain switching anisotropy may be one of the origins of the fatigue anisotropy.