Relaxor-like behavior of BaTiO3 crystals from acoustic emission study

BaTiO 3 crystals were studied by means of the acoustic emission during thermal cycling through 300–700 K range. In addition to pronounced acoustic emission at the ferroelectric phase transition temperature Tc≈400 K, also nucleation of nanoclusters was detected at somewhat smeared Burns temperature Td≈530–570 K and their local freezing at T∗≈506 K. Bias electric field shifts the T∗ and Tc linearly up, T∗ more steeply than Tc. Except for its much faster cluster dynamics than that of classical relaxor materials, BaTiO3 shows many relaxor-like features in its paraelectric phase.