Quantitative analysis of domain textures in ferroelectric ceramics from single high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction images

Abstract

In this study, the possibility of determining the orientation distribution function (ODF) and quantifying the domain textures of polycrystalline ferroelectrics based on single high-energy X-ray diffraction images using a Rietveld refinement method is assessed. A spherical harmonics texture model is incorporated in the approach to determine the ODFs for phase constituents in poled lead-free ferroelectric ceramics (1 − x)(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 − xBaTiO3 with x = 0.0625 and 0.075 from both single high-energy synchrotron diffraction images and full rotation diffraction data collected with the samples rotated perpendicular to the poling axis. A quantitative comparison is made between the complete pole figures and pole density profiles obtained from the ODFs extracted from the different diffraction data. The results show that a good approximation to the domain textures of fiber-type in poled ceramics as determined from the full rotation data can be obtained from single diffraction images, with the dominant pole densities within a maximum difference of ∼0.15 multiples of a random distribution. It thus demonstrates that single high-energy X-ray diffraction images are suitable for the quantification of domain texture in ferroelectric ceramics. The analysis validates the applicability of high-energy synchrotron X-day diffraction to observe the texture evolution in situ in ferroelectric ceramics under fast or continuous loading conditions.