Electric-field dependent measurements of 3D x-ray diffuse scattering in piezoelectric materials

Polar nano-regions (PNR) in relaxor materials Pb(Zn$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3})$O$_{3}$ and Pb(Mg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3})$O$_{3}$ are of pressing applied interest due to their influence on the remarkable piezoelectric properties of their solid solutions with ferroelectric PbTiO$_{3}$. ~X-ray single-crystal diffuse-scattering techniques have recently been shown to provide qualitative insight into the local atomic structures of these materials. ~But in order to differentiate among the PNR models that have arisen, quantitative analyses are also needed, which require mapping out large high-precision volumes of reciprocal space as a function of electric field. ~In August of this year, we conducted a synchrotron x-ray diffuse scattering experiment at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory to determine the effect of a strong electric field on the local atomic structure of a PNR. I will describe the preliminary results of this experiment.