Relaxor ferroelectric PMN-32%PT crystals under stress and electric field loading: I-32 mode measurements

Relaxor PMN-0.32PT single crystals were subjected to combined stress, electric field, and thermal loading. The electric field induced polarization and strain for a series of bias stresses and the stress induced polarization and strain for a series of bias electric fields were measured. These data were used to generate three-dimensional plots of the material behavior that clearly show a phase transformation. The results demonstrate that combinations of stress and electric field drive the phase transformation and that the driving force for this transformation decreases with increasing temperature. The threshold for the phase transformation at each temperature is used to generate a stability map for the material. Material properties are calculated for the linear regions. (C) 2004 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.