Electric field-induced switching of nanometer-sized twin related domains in 0.91Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.09PbTiO33 single crystal near a morphotropic phase boundary composition

Electric field-induced switching of nanometer-sized twin related domains were investigated in rhombohedral (R), tetragonal (T) and monoclinic (M) phases in 0.91Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.09PbTiO3 single crystal by means of scanning force microscopy in piezoresponse mode. Their domain sizes in R, T and M phases were found to be 10–100, ∼200 and 100–300 nm length, respectively. The nucleation and growth in domain switching on the (001)cub surface in R and M phases was found to be prominent in the forward direction rather than in the sideways direction with increasing ac electric field applied along 〈001〉cub direction, providing the enhanced piezoelectric properties on (001)cub surface. On the other hand, in case of (111)cub surface in R phase, electric field-induced domain switching was found to be prominent in the sideways direction, similarly to normal ferroelectric domain switching.