Domain Wall Theory for Ferroelectric Hysteresis

Abstract

This paper addresses the modeling of hysteresis in ferroelectric materials through consideration of domain wall bending and translation. The development is considered in two steps. First, dielectric constitutive relations are obtained through consideration of Langevin, Ising spin and preferred orientation theories with domain interactions incorporated through mean field relations. This yields a model for the anhysteretic polarization that occurs in the absence of domain wall pinning. Second, hysteresis is incorporated through the consideration of domain wall dynamics and the quantification of energy losses due to inherent inclusions or pinning sites within the material. This yields a model analogous to that developed by Jiles and Atherton for ferromagnetic materials. The viability of the model is illustrated through comparison with experimental data from a PMN-PT-BT actuator operating at a temperature within the ferroelectric regime.