Indentation-induced domain switching in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 crystal

Response of ferroelectric domains to mechanical stresses was studied on a < 010 > oriented piezoelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.35PbTiO(3) (0.65PMN-0 .35PT) crystal. Stress-induced domain switching was observed in the stress field of a microindentation and was confined to butterfly-shaped switching zones which extended preferentially along the < 101 > directions. Based on a critical shear stress criterion, a stress analysis was made to determine the condition for the 90 degrees domain switching. The analysis predicted a hyperbolic contour for the switching-zone boundary, in agreement with the experimental observations. (C) 2001 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.