Nondestructive visualization of a 1 μm-sized single grain inside a 0.3 mm-thick polycrystalline barium titanate

Le résumé fourni par la source

Understanding how poling treatments enhance the functional properties of ferroelectric ceramics requires nondestructive visualization of strain, defects, and domain structures within individual grains in ceramics that are processed into a form suitable for mounting, without destroying them. Here, we establish a high-energy Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging apparatus that enables nondestructive observation of a ∼1 μm-sized BaTiO 3 grain within a 0.3 mm-thick polycrystalline ceramic. This is achieved by employing a high-resolution detector and a new experimental hutch that satisfy the oversampling condition. The reconstructed three-dimensional images reveal grain morphology, domain configurations, and a shear-strain region accompanied by an adjacent lattice fault; notably, one grain exhibits a normal-fault–type displacement, rarer than the common reverse-fault type. Quantitative phase analysis yields local strain values of around 0.1%, comparable to the operating strains of piezoelectric materials. This approach provides a powerful tool for correlating microscopic structural changes with macroscopic property enhancements in ferroelectric ceramics.

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