Random Nucleation of New Domains in BaTiO3 Crystals at 20 kV/cm

The locations of domains appearing on the surface of a BaTiO3 crystal have been observed by repeated partial switching and etching to determine how frequently the domains appear at the same location on successive applied pulses. The ratio of the number of repeating locations to that of all locations is (10±1.6) % for a series of six pulses at 20 kV/cm on crystals with a positive internal bias and (28±5) % on crystals with a negative bias. The simplest interpretation of the results is that new domains can nucleate at points in the crystal remote from imperfections. This interpretation is in rough agreement with Landauer's calculation of the probability of thermally activated new domains for a 180° wall energy of 0.4 erg/cm2.