Abstract
Consecutive stochastic 90{\deg} polarization switching events, clearly resolved in recent experiments, are described by a new nucleation and growth multi-step model. It extends the classical Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi approach and includes possible consecutive 90{\deg}- and parallel 180{\deg}-switching events. The model predicts the results of simultaneous time-resolved macroscopic measurements of polarization and strain, performed on a tetragonal Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramic in a wide range of electric fields over a time domain of five orders of the magnitude. It allows the determination of the fractions of individual switching processes, their characteristic switching times, activation fields, and respective Avrami indices.
Highlights
Polarization switching driven by an applied electric field is a fundamental process in ferroelectrics involving thermally activated nucleation and growth of reversed polarization domains
Macroscopic polarization switching kinetics was described by stochastic models, such as the classical KolmogorovAvrami-Ishibashi (KAI) model based on the concept developed to describe melt solidification [2] and assuming random and statistically-independent nucleation and growth of reversed polarized domains in a uniform medium [3,4]
Though this model extension provided rather accurate description of polarization response in a range of ferroelectric materials [7,13,14,1620] another important feature still remained missing, namely the feedback due to depolarization fields emerging during the polarization reversal of individual regions [21,22,23,24,25,26]
Summary
Polarization switching driven by an applied electric field is a fundamental process in ferroelectrics involving thermally activated nucleation and growth of reversed polarization domains. Extension of the KAI model to consecutive switching events Let us first consider a consecutive 90°-switching process in a polycrystalline ferroelectric in the spirit of the KAI model [2,3,4] It is assumed, for simplicity, that polarization may adopt only directions parallel or perpendicular to the electric field, which is applied along the z axis of the Cartesian coordinate system (x,y,z), see Fig. 1. (13) 7 where the switching times 1 and 2 for the first and the second processes are defined by the geometrical and kinetic characteristics of the growing domains, which can in principle be different These parameters, as well as the exponents and , will be used to fit experimental data on the time dependent polarization and strain.
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