Reversible and irreversible domain wall contributions to the polarization in ferroelectric thin films

Abstract

Abstract In this work, standard characterization methods like hysteresis loops and C-V- measurements are used to distinguish the reversible and irreversible parts of the total ferroelectric polarization. Special attention has been given to the frequency dependence of the hysteresis loops-and the C-V-measurements. The frequency dependence of the C-V measurements indicates that the relaxation of the polarization is enhanced in ferroelectric materials compared to paraelectric SrTiO3. The reversible and irreversible contributions are demonstrated for SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin film capacitors. Additionally, a method is described to obtain the static hysteresis curve, which allows to characterize the polarization of a ferroelectric material independent of the measuring frequency, since remanent polarizations or coercive voltages inferred from usual hysteresis loop measurements strongly depend on the measuring frequency. Keywords: ferroelectricityreversible and irreversible domain wall motionsthin filmsSBTPZTRayleigh law