Dynamic processes of domain switching in lead zirconate titanate under cyclic mechanical loading by in situ neutron diffraction Original Research Article

The performance of ferroelectric ceramics is governed by the ability of domains to switch. A decrease in the switching ability can lead to degradation of the materials and failure of ferroelectric devices. In this work the dynamic properties of domain reorientation are studied. In situ time-of-flight neutron diffraction is used to probe the evolution of ferroelastic domain texture under mechanical cyclic loading in bulk lead zirconate titanate ceramics. The high sensitivity of neutron diffraction to lattice strain is exploited to precisely analyze the change of domain texture and strain through a full-pattern Rietveld method. These results are then used to construct a viscoelastic model, which explains the correlation between macroscopic phenomena (i.e. creep and recovered deformation) and microscopic dynamic behavior (i.e. ferroelastic switching, lattice strain).