Investigation on switching kinetics in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 ferroelectric thin films: Role of the 90° domain walls

Ferroelectric switching behavior of single-crystal-like epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films with different densities of 90° domain walls was investigated under various applied fields. It was found that the saturated switchable polarization of about 170μC∕cm2 did not vary with applied field in the films with low density or no 90° domain walls and obeys Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi theory. The presence of the 90° domain walls inhibits the motion of 180° domain walls, contributing to the change of the switching kinetics to nucleation-limited-switching model.