Ferroelectric domains switching method

Two types of contributions to dielectric and piezoelectric properties of ferroelectric ceramics are usually distinguished [6], [9-12], One type is called an intrinsic contribution, and it is due to the distortion of the crystal lattice under an applied electric field or a mechanical stress. The second type is called an extrinsic contribution, and it results from the motion of domain walls or domain switching [8], To provide an understanding of material properties of pzt, several methods to separate the intrinsic and extrinsic contributions were proposed. These methods are indirect, and are based on measurements of the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of ferroelectric ceramics [8], [10-12], In the experiments reported in this paper a different approach is adopted, which is based on measurements of high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. The shift in the positions of the diffraction peaks under applied electric field gives the intrinsic lattice deformation, whereas the domain switching can be calculated from the change in peak intensities [13,14],... 

Switching Method. Sharp step functions or slow-rising sawtooth electrical pulses are applied to a ferroelectric specimen and the total switching current is measured as a function of time. For step-function inputs the resultant current pulse is a measure of the nucleation and growth of reversal domains, while for slow sawtooth inputs the current is usually a series of small pulses analogous to Barkhausen pulses in ferromagnetics. The results provide information regarding domain sizes and incremental volumes swept up by the jerky movement of domain walls. 

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