Electric field induced metastable ferroelectric phase and its behavior in (Pb, La)(Zr, Sn, Ti)O₃ antiferroelectric single crystal near morphotropic phase boundary

Antiferroelectric (AFE) (Pb, La)(Zr, Sn, Ti)O₃ (PLZST) single crystal with composition near morphotropic phase boundary has been grown and studied. X-ray diffraction analysis and electrical properties reveal coexistence of antiferroelectric/ferroelectric (FE) phases, with the AFE phase dominated at room temperature. Temperature-dependent polarization and strain measurements indicate that the AFE phase can be induced into a metastable FE phase by electric field. The FE phase can be maintained in a wide temperature range above room temperature and recovers to AFE phase around a critical temperature of 90°C, accompanied with remarkable change in field-induced strain. The strain at 90°C (∼0.50%) is ten times larger than that at room temperature (∼0.04%), which makes the PLZST single crystal a promising candidate for thermal switch and actuator application.