Tricritical point in PbZrxTi1-xO3solid solutions

Abstract

Changes in transition temperature between ferroelectric and paraelectric states under the influence of an external alternating electric field and uniaxial mechanical stress have been investigated for PbZr _x Ti_{1 - x}O₃ solid solutions with low Ti content. The results indicate a further anomaly of physical properties connected with the existence of a tricritical point in PbZr _x Ti_{1 - x}O₃ in the vicinity of the value x = 0.94. The influence of electrostrictive coupling on the observed anomaly and the correlation between tricritical point and complex phase composition are discussed on the basis of data reported by various authors.