Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-x%PbTiO3 (PMN-x%PT) single
crystals near morphotropic phase boundaries (MPBs) have
excellent dielectric and piezoelectric properties, offering
revolutionary advances in actuator, transducer, and acoustic
sensor technologies. From their discovery, much effort
has been devoted to the investigation of the origin of
these excellent properties. In the current study, piezoresponse
force imaging (PFM) and optical microscopy have been used
to observe (i) the static domain structures; and (ii)
the polarization switching process. Investigations have
focused on (001) oriented PMN-x%PT (x=10, 20, 30, 35,
and 40) crystals. Hierarchial domain organization has
been found ranging in length scales from nanometer to
millimeters.
