The field and temperature dependence of hysteresis loops in P(VDF–TrFE) copolymer films

The ferroelectric hysteresis loops of poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoethylene) [P(VDF–TrFE)] copolymer films are investigated as a function of external field and temperature. Starting from a plateau at the low frequency side the coercive field increases with increasing frequency. It exhibits a maximum in the kHz-range and decreases then. The remanent polarization is almost constant at low frequencies and decreases above the kHz-range. For a constant frequency, the coercive field increases with increasing the amplitude of the external field. Furthermore, the hysteresis loops at different temperatures at a given frequency and amplitude exhibit a linear decrease of coercive field with increasing temperature. A double hysteresis loop is observed close to the Curie point and a sharp jump of the remanent polarization is obtained in samples as thick as 600 nm indicating a first order phase transition. For samples as thin as 90 nm, the double hysteresis loop of the polarization is absent and the change of remanent polarization dependent on temperature is smoother. The above experimental results can be explained and simulated in the Weiss mean field model. The simulation results are compared with the experiments and show a good consistency.