Ferroelectric phase transition in relaxor ferroelectric single crystals 0.76PMN-0.24PT

The features of the single crystals 0.76PMN-0.24PT in dielectric, ferroelectric, pyroelectric properties and domain structures indicate that they are located between typical ferroelectrics and normal ones. The unpoled crystals present a transitional domain configuration between microdomains and typical macrodomains while the crystals on (001) cuts undergo field-induced phase transition under poling, showing two special temperature points Td and Tm during the succedent heating procedure. The dielectric constant starts to decrease drastically at Td during cooling, or the transformation from induced macrodomain to transitional domain takes place at Td during heating. Ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition or depolarization continues within the whole temperature range of Td-Tm, where ferroelectric phase in the form of transitional macrodomains coexists with paraelectric phase. Then the crystals macroscopically transoform into paraelectric phase containing ferroelectric microdomains at a temperature abo