Optical and dielectric anomalies in PbIn1/2Nb1/2O3-xPbTiO3 crystals in an electric field

A study is reported of the effect produced by application of a dc electric field (0 < E < 5 kV/cm) in different regimes on structural phase transformations and behavior of the phase boundary in [001]-oriented PbIn_1/2Nb_1/2O₃-37PbTiO₃ single crystals (starting composition) near the morphotropic phase boundary. The dielectric methods have been complemented for the first time by optical probing. It has been demonstrated that the content of PbTiO₃ in the samples under study is less than that in the starting composition. A suggestion is advanced that, in the samples studied, the stable room-temperature state with no electric field applied is that formed in the mixture of the rhombohedral R and monoclinic M _a phases. It has been found that the number, symmetry, and stability of the phases formed in a field depend on the regime of field application. The E-T phase diagrams have been constructed for different field application regimes. Phase diagrams obtained for the same crystal have been shown to differ for different regimes of field application.