Electron-Beam Domain Patterning in Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 Crystals

The characteristics of electron-beam domain writing (EBDW) on the polar and nonpolar surfaces of the field-cooled (FC) and zero-field cooled (ZFC) Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 (SBN) crystals are presented in the range of accelerating voltage U from 10 to 25 kV. The exposure characteristics of the domain diameter d and length Ld (when writing on the polar and nonpolar surfaces, respectively) were measured. With increasing exposure time, d tends to a saturation value, whereas Ld grows linearly, the frontal velocity Vf being of 40 μm/s. At U = 25 kV the achieved d and Ld are of 7 and 40 µm, respectively. The observed peculiar features of EBDW—specifically the domain widening with exposure times and the effect of the polarization state of the crystal on the domain stability—are accounted for by the relaxor features inherent to this material. The effects of electron-beam (EB) irradiation on the local hysteresis loops is evidence of a domain fixation.