Temperature dependence of flexoelectric response in ferroelectric and relaxor polymer thin films

Authors

Shashi Poddar, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Stephen Ducharme, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 116, 114105 (2014); doi: 10.1063/1.4895988

Comments

Copyright (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. Used by permission.

Abstract

We report the temperature dependence of the flexoelectric response in thin films of both ferroelectric and relaxor forms of vinylidene fluoride polymers. The ferroelectric samples were depoled to minimize piezoelectric response by heating them beyond their Curie temperature and then cooling in zero applied electric field. In both the relaxor ferroelectric polymer and the paraelectric state of the ferroelectric copolymer, the flexoelectric coefficient was proportional to the dielectric constant over a limited range of temperatures, in agreement with general theoretical principles. The enhancements in flexoelectric response were also observed near the Curie transition temperature for the ferroelectric polymer and near the dielectric relaxation temperature for the relaxors. The broad dielectric anomaly in these systems provides greater temperature stability for these enhancements.