Pressure dependence of the monoclinic phase in (1-x)Pb(Mg _1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-xPbTiO₃ solid solutions

We combine high-pressure x-ray diffraction, high-pressure Raman scattering, and optical microscopy to investigate a series of (1-x)Pb(Mg _1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-xPbTiO₃ (PMN-xPT) solid solutions (x=0.2, 0.3, 0.33, 0.35, 0.37, 0.4) in diamond anvil cells up to 20 GPa at 300 K. The Raman spectra show a peak centered at 380 cm^-1 starting above 6 GPa for all samples, in agreement with previous observations. X-ray diffraction measurements are consistent with this spectral change indicating a structural phase transition; we find that the triplet at the pseudocubic (220) Bragg peak merges into a doublet above 6 GPa. Our results indicate that the morphotropic phase boundary region (x=0.33-0.37) with the presence of monoclinic symmetry persists up to 7 GPa. The pressure dependence of ferroelectric domains in PMN-0.32PT single crystals was observed using a polarizing optical microscope. The domain wall density decreases with pressure and the domains disappear at a modest pressure of 3 GPa. We propose a pressure-composition phase diagram for PMN-xPT solid solutions.