Depolarization of multidomain ferroelectric materials

Depolarization of multidomain ferroelectric materials

Zhao, Dong (Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; Max-Planck Institute of Iron and Steel Research)
Lenz, Thomas (Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research; Graduate School Materials Science in Mainz)
Gelinck, Gerwin H. (TNO; Eindhoven University of Technology)
Groen, W.A. (TU Delft Aerospace Structures & Materials)
Damjanovic, Dragan (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
de Leeuw, D.M. (TU Delft Novel Aerospace Materials; Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research)
Katsouras, Ilias (TNO)

Aerospace Structures & Materials

2019

Depolarization in ferroelectric materials has been studied since the 1970s, albeit quasi-statically. The dynamics are described by the empirical Merz law, which gives the polarization switching time as a function of electric field, normalized to the so-called activation field. The Merz law has been used for decades; its origin as domain-wall depinning has recently been corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations. Here we experimentally investigate domain-wall depinning by measuring the dynamics of depolarization. We find that the boundary between thermodynamically stable and depolarizing regimes can be described by a single constant, P_r/ε₀ε_ferroE_c. Among different multidomain ferroelectric materials the values of coercive field, E_c, dielectric constant, ε_ferro, and remanent polarization, P_r, vary by orders of magnitude; the value for P_r/ε₀ε_ferroE_c however is comparable, about 15. Using this extracted universal value, we show that the depolarization field is similar to the activation field, which corresponds to the transition from creep to domain-wall flow.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:dc3eb90a-40f9-4acb-900e-623a9f460f84

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10530-4

2041-1723

Nature Communications, 10 (1)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2019 Dong Zhao, Thomas Lenz, Gerwin H. Gelinck, W.A. Groen, Dragan Damjanovic, D.M. de Leeuw, Ilias Katsouras