Mechanism of depolarization with temperature for <0 0 1> (1 − x)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 single crystals Original Research Article

The temperature dependence of polarization for Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)1−xTixO3 single crystals poled in the [0 0 1]-direction has been investigated. During the application of a temperature increase, the percentage of switched domains and the distortion of the crystalline lattice in (1 − x)PZN–xPT single crystals were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Using this method, intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to polarization variations were separated in the temperature range from 25 °C to the Curie temperature (Tc). Experimental polarization variations were simulated from microscopic data and details on micro–macro relationships were given. It was found that polarization variation with temperature is caused by the variation of the distortion of the crystalline lattice for temperatures below the Curie temperature and that only 90° domain switching occurs in the vicinity of the Curie temperature. Moreover, the hysteretic behavior of the polarization with temperature is due to motion of domain walls. The understanding of mechanisms of depolarization with temperature and the hysteresis associated with are of interest for the enhancement the pyroelectric properties of the material for detection and energy harvesting applications.