Variation of the soft-mode frequency in ferroelectric semiconductors in a static electric field

Abstract

The action of a static electric field on the soft-mode frequency in narrow-gap ferroelectric semiconductors, as a result of the contribution of the electron subsystem, is investigated within the framework of the vibronic mechanism. It is shown that the frequency of the soft mode varies directly as the square of the electric field strength under the action of the field, and the soft-mode frequency is determined in the vibronic model by the electron distribution function, whose parameters also vary under the action of the electric field. The effect is stronger for crystals with a one-dimensional electron spectrum than for those with an isotropic three-dimensional spectrum; according to estimates for ferroelectric semiconductors of the type Pb1−xGexTe, a frequency variation of the order of the soft-mode frequency itself is attained in fields of the order of tens of volts per centimeter.