  Phase diagrams of [001] and [110] field-cooled (FC)
(1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3)-xPbTiO3 or PMN-xPT crystals have been constructed, based
on high-resolution x-ray diffraction data. Comparisons reveal several
interesting findings. First, a region of abnormal thermal expansion above the
dielectric maximum was found, whose stability range extended to higher
temperatures by application of electric field (E). Second, the rhombohedral (R)
phase of the ZFC state was replaced by a monoclinic MA in the [001] FC diagram,
but with monoclinic MB in the [110] FC. Third, the monoclinic MC phase in ZFC
and [001] FC diagram was replaced by an orthorhombic (O) phase in the [110] FC.
Finally, in the [001] FC diagram, the phase boundary between tetragonal (T) and
MA was extended to lower PT contents (x=0.25); whereas in the [110] FC diagram,
this extended region was entirely replaced by the O phase. These results
clearly demonstrate that the phase stability of PMN-xPT crystals is quite
fragile, depending not only on modest changes in E, but also on the direction
along which that E is applied.
