Here, we apply aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy to quantify chemical ordering in the relaxor Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3 (PMN). We find that contrary to the prevailing model of a binary distribution of chemically ordered regions within a disordered matrix, the degree of ordering smoothly varies within an ordered domain and approaches a minimum at anti-phase boundaries. These results provide direct insight into the nature of cation ordering in this important prototypical relaxor material.

中文翻译：

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弛豫中的梯度化学顺序 Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3

在这里，我们应用像差校正的扫描透射电子显微镜来量化弛豫 Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3 (PMN) 中的化学排序。我们发现，与无序矩阵内化学有序区域的二元分布的流行模型相反，有序度在有序域内平滑变化，并在反相边界处接近最小值。这些结果提供了对这种重要原型弛豫材料中阳离子排序性质的直接洞察。