Universal ferroelectric switching dynamics of vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer films.
In this work, switching dynamics of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer films are investigated over unprecedentedly wide ranges of temperature and electric field. Remarkably, domain switching of copolymer films obeys well the classical domain nucleation and growth model although the origin of ferroelectricity in organic ferroelectric materials inherently differs from the inorganic counterparts. A lower coercivity limit of 50 MV/m and 180° domain wall energy of 60 mJ/m(2) are determined for P(VDF-TrFE) films. Furthermore, we discover in copolymer films an anomalous temperature-dependent crossover behavior between two power-law scaling regimes of frequency-dependent coercivity, which is attributed to the transition between flow and creep motions of domain walls. Our observations shed new light on the switching dynamics of semi-crystalline ferroelectric polymers, and such understandings are critical for realizing their reliable applications.
Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Wei Jin
WJ
Hu
Department of Physics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
Deng-Ming
DM
Juo
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Lu
L
You
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Junling
J
Wang
Department of Physics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
Yi-Chun
YC
Chen
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Ying-Hao
YH
Chu
Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Tom
T
Wu