Universal ferroelectric switching dynamics of vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymer films

Wei Jin Hu, Deng Ming Juo, Lu You, Junling Wang, Yi Chun Chen, Ying Hao Chu, Tom Wu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

172 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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 50â €...MV/m and 180° domain wall energy of 60â €...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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4772
JournalScientific reports
Volume4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Apr 24

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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