Domain formation and correlation effects in quenched uniaxial ferroelectrics: A stochastic model perspective

Abstract

The stochastic analysis of the polarization domain structures, emerging after quenching from a paraelectric to a ferroelectric state, in terms of the polarization correlation functions and their Fourier transforms is a fast and effective tool of the materials structure characterization. In spite of a significant volume of experimental data accumulated over the last three decades for the model uniaxial ferroelectric triglycine sulfate, there were no theoretical tools to comprehend these data until now. This work summarizes the recent progress in understanding of the experiments by means of the original stochastic model of polarization structure formation based on the Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire theory and the Gauss random field concept assuming the predominance of the quenched polarization disorder over the thermal fluctuations. The system of integrodifferential equations for correlation functions of random polarization and electric field turns out to be analytically solvable. The model provides explanations to a range of experimental results on the polarization formation kinetics including the time-dependent correlation lengths and correlation functions on the macroscopic spatial and time scales. Notably, it predicts the dependence of the ferroelectric coercive field on the initial disordered state characteristics, which can be controlled by quenching parameters like the initial temperature and the cooling rate, thus paving the way for tailoring the functional properties of the material.