The dynamical behavior of field-induced ferroelectric phase transitions in compositions of $(1-x)\mathrm{Pb}\left({\mathrm{Mg}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{2/3}\right){\mathrm{O}}_3\text{−}x{\mathrm{PbTiO}}_3$, called PMN-PT, near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) was investigated using several different external electric-field application protocols. Our results show that PMN-PT compositions near the MPB exhibit phase transition dynamics that differ markedly from those of compositions far below the MPB. We demonstrate that the electric-field history has a notable impact on the field-induced transition temperature $T_C$, zero-field-cooling delay time ${\tau }_{\mathrm{ZFC}}$, and induced polarization $P_c$ gained or lost in the transition. Furthermore, we show that under specific field-temperature conditions, PMN-PT can retain a memory of its electric-field history and use it to kinetically accelerate ferroelectric ordering. An explanation of the key differences in phase transition dynamics between MPB-proximal and MPB-distant compositions is proposed and contextualized within the literature.

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• Ferroelectricity
• Disordered systems
• Ferroelectrics
• Relaxor ferroelectrics
• Capacitance measurements