Effect of shear stress in ferroelectric solid solutions with coexisting phases

One common feature of ferroelectric solid solutions with large piezoelectricity is the coexistence of two or more phases. Due to the strain mismatch among coexisting phases, adaptive structures near the interfaces or domain walls develop to maintain the atomic coherency. Shear stresses commonly exist, especially when the domain size is small. The effect of shear stresses on phase morphology in Pb(Zr_1-xTi_x)O₃ solid solutions with compositions within the morphotropic phase boundary region was studied within the framework of Landau phenomenological theory. Our results show that the coexisting rhombohedral (R) and tetragonal (T) phases can be modified to form stable or metastable R-like and/or T-like monoclinic phases under shear stresses. Large stresses may also induce first order or second order phase transitions.