Accurate measurement and analysis of ferroelectric switching transients in thin VDF/TrFE copolymer films

Ferroelectric switching characteristics in vinylidene fluoride (VDF)/trifluoroethylene (TrFE) copolymer films have been shown to depend to a variety of factors not only the electric field E and temperature but also film thickness and previous poling conditions. Polarization reversal is believed to progress via nucleation-growth mechanism. However, there remains uncertainty about its microscopic features because of the polycrystalline structure of copolymer films. In this paper, we report on the accurate measurement and analysis of the switching transient that reflects the nucleation-growth process.