How do polar nano regions form in relaxor ?

Using 4D-STEM, we directly imaged the nanoscale evolution of polar nanoregions (PNRs) in Pb(Mg₁/₃Nb₂/₃)O₃ (PMN).
🔬 As temperature decreases:
• PNRs grow
• PNRs interconnect (percolation)
• CORs remain static
➡️ Direct real-space evidence for the random-field model.

New paper published in Applied Physics Letters

Great collaboration with @TohokuUniv @TokyoScience