TEM investigation of the domain structure in PbHfO3 and PbZrO3 antiferroelectric perovskites

The domain structure is comprehensively investigated in the prototype antiferroelectric perovskite PbHfO3 using transmission electron microscopy. The antiparallel Pb-displacements, and the one {110}c-atomic-plane and four {110}c-atomic-plane (subscript c denotes the pseudo-cubic notation) polar translational boundaries within antiferroelectric domains are directly revealed. At the micrometer level, various antiferroelectric domain structures are observed and analyzed in PbHfO3, including the new “cloverleaf pattern” domain morphology. In another prototype antiferroelectric perovskite PbZrO3, antiferroelectric domains appear to favor the “lamellar pattern.” The combination of these two patterns makes even more complicated domain structures in PbZrO3.