Back-switching of ferroelectric polarization in two-component systems

It is shown by the example of poly(vinylidene fluoride) that back-switching of ferroelectric polarization in two-component systems during short circuiting after initial poling depends on the poling time and exhibits a maximum in samples poled for about 100μs. The switched back polarization decreases to zero for poling times smaller than 1μs and times exceeding 1s. The phenomenon is explained on the basis of a model proposed earlier for polarization buildup in two-component ferroelectrics taking into account the role of conductivity induced interfacial charge accumulation at the boundaries between ferroelectric and nonferroelectric components.