Structural-property relations in ferroelectric-based materials

Three examples are presented in which transmission electron microscopy have been used to prepare higher performance materials and study the role of mesoscopic structures on their dielectric properties. The first example demonstrates the importance of intermediate scale B-site chemical ordering within the complex lead perovskite lattice and the associated observation of relaxor behavior. The second example demonstrates the presence of sub-domain ferroelectric and antiferroelectric structures in a number of systems with symmetry breaking defects. The third example demonstrates how TEM can be used to optimize the grain boundary and grain size properties in a typical relaxor material.