Domain switching in ferroelectric single crystal/ceramics under electromechanical loading

Domain switching in PMN-PT single crystal and PZT-5 ceramics under electromechanical loading were studied in two different ways. For the single crystal, domain switching was in situ investigated with polarized light microscopy. A 90°domain-switching zone was observed near the crack tip and the size of the switching zone changed with the acuity of the crack tip. For PZT-5 ceramics, domain switching under orthogonal electromechanical loading (E₃ and compressive stress σ₁₁) was studied by measuring the hysteresis loops, butterfly curves and reversed butterfly curves (ε₁₁ versus E₃). Experimental results show that 90°domain switching is suppressed in the planes parallel to the compression direction. A domain-switching model dividing each 180°switching to two successive 90°switching was proposed to explain the experimental results.