A rapid two-dimensional data collection system for the study of ferroelectric materials under external applied electric fields

Tikhon Vergentev; Iurii Bronwald; Dmitry Chernyshov; Semen Gorfman; Stephanie H M Ryding; Paul Thompson; Robert J Cernik

doi:10.1107/S1600576716011341

A rapid two-dimensional data collection system for the study of ferroelectric materials under external applied electric fields

J Appl Crystallogr. 2016 Aug 16;49(Pt 5):1501-1507. doi: 10.1107/S1600576716011341. eCollection 2016 Oct 1.

Authors

Tikhon Vergentev¹, Iurii Bronwald¹, Dmitry Chernyshov², Semen Gorfman³, Stephanie H M Ryding⁴, Paul Thompson², Robert J Cernik⁵

Affiliations

¹ Peter the Great Polytechnic University , St Petersburg, Russian Federation.
² ESRF , 71 Rue des Martyrs, Grenoble, France.
³ Department of Physics, University of Siegen , Siegen, Germany.
⁴ School of Materials, The University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
⁵ School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; ESRF, 71 Rue des Martyrs, Grenoble, France.

Abstract

Synchrotron X-rays on the Swiss Norwegian Beamline and BM28 (XMaS) at the ESRF have been used to record the diffraction response of the PMN-PT relaxor piezoelectric 67% Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-33% PbTiO₃ as a function of externally applied electric field. A DC field in the range 0-18 kV cm^-1 was applied along the [001] pseudo-cubic direction using a specially designed sample cell for in situ single-crystal diffraction experiments. The cell allowed data to be collected on a Pilatus 2M area detector in a large volume of reciprocal space using transmission geometry. The data showed good agreement with a twinned single-phase monoclinic structure model. The results from the area detector were compared with previous Bragg peak mapping using variable electric fields and a single detector where the structural model was ambiguous. The coverage of a significantly larger section of reciprocal space facilitated by the area detector allowed precise phase analysis.

Keywords: PMN-PT; area detectors; diffuse scattering; ferroelectricity; in situ two-dimensional X-ray single-crystal diffraction; phase transitions; piezoelectricity; synchrotron X-rays.