Spatial inhomogeneity of ferroelectric domain structure in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–30%PbTiO3 single crystals

Abstract Piezoresponse force microscopy studies of domain structures have been performed on (001)-oriented Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 –30%PbTiO 3 single crystals with a rhombohedral ferroelectric state. Regular (narrow strip-like) and irregular (fingerprint-like) domain patterns were clearly observed on the different surfaces of the unpoled samples. The results reveal that the random internal field due to nanoscale structure irregularity plays an important role in the spatial inhomogeneity of ferroelectric domain structures in PMN-PT single crystals.