Direct observation of synchronized 90° domain switching in BaTiO3 crystal during electric field loading

Abstract

We in-situ investigated the domain switching processes in BaTiO3 (BT) crystals by a fast camera combined with a polarized light microscope. The domain nucleation and domain wall motion processes were recorded. Our results reveal that under dynamic electric field loading, the polarization reorientation was mainly dominated by 90° domain nucleation and forward domain wall motion, instead of the sideways motion of the domain walls. More importantly, we show that synchronized 90° domain switching happens in BaTiO3 crystal during electric field loading. These results are thought to be very helpful for building a reasonable constitutive model for ferroelectrics.