Statistical distribution of switching times is a key information necessary to describe the dynamic response of a polycrystalline bulk ferroelectric to an applied electric field. The Inhomogeneous Field Mechanism (IFM) model offers a useful tool which allows extraction of this information from polarization switching measurements over a large time window. In this paper, the model was further developed to account for the presence of non-switchable regions in fatigued materials. Application of the IFM- analysis to bipolar electric cycling induced fatigue process of various lead-based and lead-free ferroelectric ceramics reveals different scenarios of property degradation. Insight is gained into different underlying fatigue mechanisms inherent to the investigated systems.
@article{arxiv.1605.07317,
title = {Fatigue effect on polarization switching dynamics in polycrystalline bulk ferroelectrics},
author = {S. Zhukov and J. Glaum and H. Kungl and E. Sapper and R. Dittmer and Y. A. Genenko and H. von Seggern},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1605.07317},
year = {2016}
}