Dynamic hysteresis stability of ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

Ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films sandwiched by YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) electrodes on (0 0 1) SrTiO3 wafers are prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The dynamic hysteresis response of the films to the periodic time-varying electrical field E(t) of different amplitude E0 (0–45 kV cm−1) and frequency f (f=10−2 to 105 Hz) is measured. We study in detail the evolution and stability of the hysteresis pattern. A stability diagram for the dynamic hysteresis of PZT films is developed and an empirical scaling relationship covering the whole frequency range is proposed. Finally, we develop a Monte-Carlo (MC) algorithm based on the planar X–Y model to simulate the dynamic hysteresis in multi-domain spin systems and a qualitative consistency between the simulated dynamic behaviors and measured ones is established.