DOMAIN FORMATION IN FERROELECTRIC BATIO3 STUDIED BY X-RAY TOPOGRAPHY .1.

Three dimensional structure of antiparallel ferroelectric domains formed in c-plates of BaTiO3, partly covered with electrodes, has been studied by X-ray topography. Outside the electrodes, clusters of needle-like domains of about (10μm)2in cross section due to the leakage field were observed. These clusters were nucleated from the surface with the negative electrode and almost all of the needle-like domains have terminated inside the crystal near the opposite surface with positive electrode. At the domain boundaries of large domains and at the walls of these needle-like domains, the crystal lattice is strained with the strain field parallel to the c-axis. Under an optical microscope domains are visible with very poor contrast due to the reflexion of light at the domain walls. © 1979, THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN. All rights reserved.