Pressure instabilities up to 46 GPa in the relaxor ferroelectric PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3
Résumé
We report a high-pressure investigation of the relaxor ferroelectric lead zinc niobate PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3 (PZN) up to 46 GPa, which is the highest pressure yet attained in the study of relaxors. The evolution of both Raman and x-ray scattering with pressure gives evidence for important pressure instabilities, which find its expression in three successive phase transitions. The observed pressure-induced suppression of diffuse scattering above 5 GPa is similar to recent reports and supports the hypothesis that this is a general feature in relaxors at high pressures.