Domain nucleation and relaxation kinetics in ferroelectric thin films

The time-dependent relaxation of the remanent polarization in epitaxial lead zirconate titanate (PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3) ferroelectric thin films, containing a uniform two-dimensional grid of 90° domains (c axis in the plane of the film), is examined using piezoresponse microscopy. The 90° domain walls preferentially nucleate the 180° reverse domains during relaxation, with a significant directional anisotropy. Relaxation occurs through the nucleation and growth of reverse domains, which subsequently coalesce and consume the entire region as a function of time. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.