Electric Field Effects on Diffuse Scattering from PMN-30PT*

Solid solutions of the relaxor PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃ and the ferroelectric PbTiO₃ produce a system with a morphotropic phase boundary near the concentration of 30% PbTiO₃. At this phase boundary, the piezoelectric coefficient of the material is greatly enhanced, a useful bulk property likely arising from short-range correlations within the material. To investigate the connection between local correlations and electric fields, diffuse scattering experiments were performed on single crystals of PMN-30PT under a range of applied potentials and field directions. Different components of diffuse scattering were shown to behave differently under applied fields, providing insight into how the macroscopic piezoelectric behavior is determined by local structural correlations.