Relaxor-like behavior of BaTiO3 crystals from acoustic emission study

BaTiO3 crystals were studied by means of the acoustic emission during thermal cycling through 300-700 K range. In addition to pronounced acoustic emission at the ferroelectric phase transition temperature T-c approximate to 400 K, also nucleation of nanoclusters was detected at somewhat smeared Burns temperature T-d approximate to 530-570 K and their local freezing at T-*approximate to 506 K. Bias electric field shifts the T-* and T-c linearly up, T-* more steeply than T-c. Except for its much faster cluster dynamics than that of classical relaxor materials, BaTiO3 shows many relaxor-like features in its paraelectric phase. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3464968]