Effect of Space Charge Fields on Polarization Reversal and the Generation of Barkhausen Pulses in Barium Titanate

Abstract

The rate of generation of Barkhausen pulses in barium titanate when the polarization direction is slowly reversed is profoundly influenced by the form of the voltage cycling given to the crystal. It is concluded that the rate of nucleation of new domains is determined by the field near the electrodes which, in turn, is the resultant of the applied field and a relaxing space charge field. This result follows directly if the Barkhausen pulses represent individual nucleations though this assumption is not crucial since the generation rate of the pulses parallels the total current at all stages of the polarization reversal. It is concluded also that the majority of the Barkhausen pulses occur independently of each other and of their surroundings.