Abstract:
Average domain engineering has emerged as a new direction in material research after discovery of very high piezoelectric performance and electromechanical response of some perovskites. Studies performed on other multidomain crystals with perovskite-type structure have shown that external fields can produce stable domain configurations with modified material properties. We have developed a general method that enables oneto derive all conceivable domain configurations, exhibiting macroscopic tensor properties absent in the prototypic phase, and determine, which of these configurations can be induced by external fields. Illustrative examples of rhombohedral and monoclinic lead zinc niobate - lead titanate crystals, and also of orthorhombic magneto-electric NiBr-type boracites will be presented.