In situ high-temperature high-pressure Raman spectroscopy on single-crystal relaxor ferroelectrics PbSc1/2Ta1/2O3 and PbSc1/2Nb1/2O3

Abstract

The effect of temperature on the pressure-induced structural changes in perovskite-type (ABO3) relaxor ferroelectrics is studied by in situ high-temperature high-pressure Raman spectroscopy on single crystals of PbSc1/2Ta1/2O3 (PST) and PbSc1/2Nb1/2O3 (PSN), which allowed us to elucidate the interplay between the polar and antiferrodistortive order coexisting on the mesoscopic scale at ambient conditions. High-pressure experiments were carried out at elevated temperatures below and above the characteristic intermediate temperature T*. The results were compared with those obtained at room temperature, which for PST is just above the paraelectric–ferroelectric phase transition TC, whereas for PSN is below TC. It is shown that the first critical pressure pc1, at which a transition from a relaxor to a non-polar rhombohedral state with antiphase octahedral tilt ordering occurs, decreases at elevated temperatures due to the weakening of the polar coupling, which in turn facilitates the evolution of the preexisting medium-range antiferrodistortive order into a long-range order. The critical pressure pc2 of the second phase transition, involving a change in the type of the antiferrodistortive order, is not affected by temperature, i.e. it is independent of the state of polar coupling and is mainly related to the initial correlation length of antiferrodistortive order. The strong influence of temperature on pc1, which occurs only when the mesoscopic polar order is suppressed, emphasizes the importance of coexisting ferroelectric and antiferrodistortive coupling for the occurrence of the relaxor states.