Subsecond relaxation of internal field after polarization reversal in congruent LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals

We developed an experimental method for measuring subsecond temporal evolution of the internal field after polarization reversal in ferroelectric crystals, congruent LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals. In each crystal the internal field exhibited two distinct relaxations, suggesting that they originate from two different types of defects. The fast one decays in subsecond range while the slow one lasts over days at room temperature. The subsecond relaxation could be fit to a stretched exponential. This method can be applied to other ferroelectric crystals to investigate the properties of defects.

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