Influence of K1+/La3+ co-modification on domain evolution and electrically-induced strains in lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric ceramics

The influence of K¹⁺ co-modification on the structure-property relationships of base PLZT 100y/65/35 ceramics has been investigated. For 4/65/35, K¹⁺ modification resulted in a dramatic decrease (~10×) in the magnitude of the induced strain, the development of a pinned polarization and a dramatic reduction in domain size and change in domain morphology. For 7/65/35 with increasing K¹⁺ concentration, only minor changes in the e-E response and a crossover between nanodomains and normal micron-sized domains occurred. For 12/65/35, significant increases in the magnitude of the induced strain were found, and an increase in the nanodomain size occurred. These results are discussed in terms of the influence of impurity/defect pinning sites and their distributions on domain stability and polarization switching