Micro-Raman scattering and dielectric investigations of phase transitions behavior in the PbHf0.7Sn0.3O3 single crystal

Raman light scattering was used to detect the sequence of transitions in a PbHf1-xSnxO3 (PHS) single crystal with x = 0.30 in a temperature range of 77–873 K. Changes of Raman spectra were observed in the vicinity of structural phase transitions: between the antiferroelectric (AFE1)–antiferroelectric (AFE2)—intermediate—paraelectric phases. Light scattering and dielectric investigations were used to find out the nature and sequence of the phase transition, as well as the large dielectric permittivity values measured at the phase transition, by searching for the soft-phonon-mode behavior. The experimentally recorded spectra were analyzed in terms of the damped-harmonic oscillator model for the phonon bands. It is demonstrated that the structural phase transformations in PHS can be considered as the result of softening of many modes, not only the ferroelectric one. It was also proved that locally broken symmetry effects are present at temperatures far above the Curie temperature and are connected with the softening of two optic modes of different nature.