Extensively studied PMN-PT and PIN-PMN-PT crystals with compositions close to the morphotropic phase boundary possess excellent piezoelectric characteristics. Recently developed alternating current treatment enhances the piezoelectric performance even further. Here, we demonstrate the results of studying the domain structure evolution by direct optical imaging during polarization reversal in [001]-oriented PIN-PMN-PT single crystals of rhombohedral phase during alternating current poling (ACP). The main types of domain structures involved in polarization reversal were revealed. Cross-like domain structure (CDS) was found to be undesirable for the piezoelectric application. The ACP-treatment proved to be effective in reducing the CDS fraction as a result of the growth of lens-shaped domains attributed to the 71° switching. The interaction of cross-like and lens-shaped domains was proposed as a key mechanism for improving the piezoelectric properties by the ACP-treatment. Comparison of the switching current with optical images revealed the correlation between the CDS area and electric field corresponding to the current maximum. This fact allows optimizing the number of the ACP-treatment pulses based on the switching current data without optical imaging.

Lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) solid solutions are intensively studied for the last two decades due to their outstanding piezoelectric properties. However, despite the strong interest, there is a lack of studies of domain kinetics and domain structure evolution, which are of great importance for the development of domain engineering in PMN-PT. We present the results of the domain kinetics study during polarization reversal in tetragonal PMN-PT single crystals by in situ optical visualization accompanied by analysis of the switching current. Three types of domain structure evolution have been revealed: (1) formation and growth of macroscopic a-domains, (2) formation of charged domain walls as a result of intersections of macroscopic a-domains, and (3) formation and growth of c-domains. The domain wall motion velocities were estimated. It has been shown by comparison of the switching current and optical one that the main switching current peak is related to the growth of c-domains, whereas the small one is caused by the capacitive input of the charged domain walls. The enhancement of dielectric permittivity by two orders of magnitude due to the appearance of the charged domain walls has been revealed. The difference of forward and reverse polarization reversals was attributed to the clamped switching conditions.

Doped ceria is known for decades as an excellent ionic conductor used ubiquitously in fuel cells and other devices. Recent discovery of a giant electrostriction effect has brought world-wide interest to this class of materials for actuation applications in micromechanical systems. From this aspect, the electromechanical response has to be studied as a function of external parameters, such as frequency, temperature, and electrode material. In this work, we fabricated circular membranes based on Gd-doped ceria (CGO) with Ti electrodes and studied their electromechanical response using a sensitive interferometric technique. The self-supported membranes are flat at room temperature and reversibly buckle upon heating, indicating that the membranes are under in-plane tensile strain. We have found that the electromechanical response is strongly frequency dependent. Significant hysteresis is observed in the displacement-vs.-voltage curves, which is deleterious for micromechanical applications but can be eliminated by tuning the phase of the excitation voltage. The electromechanical response of the system increases with temperature. Finite Element Modeling is applied to evaluate the electrostriction coefficient of the CGO material. At low frequencies, the M₁₂ electrostriction coefficient is about 5 × 10⁻¹⁸ m²/V², which is in line with the previous reports.

Statics and dynamics of ferroelectric domains in molecular perovskite multiaxial ferroelectric (Me₃NOH)₂[KCo(CN)₆].

Surface pyroelectricity and piezoelectricity induced by water incorporation during growth in α-glycine were investigated. Using the periodic temperature change technique, we have determined the thickness (~280 µm) of the near surface layer (NSL) and its pyroelectric coefficient (160 pC/(K × cm²) at 23 °C) independently. The thickness of NSL remains nearly constant till 60 °C and the pyroelectric effect vanishes abruptly by 70 °C. The piezoelectric effect, 0.1 pm/V at 23 °C measured with an interferometer, followed the same temperature dependence as the pyroelectric effect. Abrupt disappearance of both effects at 70 °C is irreversible and suggests that water incorporation to α-glycine forms a well defined near surface phase, which is different form α-glycine because it is polar but it too close to α-glycine to be distinguished by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The secondary pyroelectric effect was found to be <14% of the total, which is unexpectedly small for a material with a large thermal expansion coefficient. This implies that water incorporation infers minimal distortions in the host lattice. This finding suggests a path for the control of the piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects of the crystals using stereospecific incorporation of the guest molecules.