Internal Field and Self-Polarization in Mechanically Stressed Spherulite Thin Films of Lead Zirconate Titanate

A comparative study was made of the microstructure and polar properties of lead zirconate titanate thin films formed on silicon and glass ceramic substrates, in which the sizes of spherulite blocks differed by an order of magnitude. An increase in their size led to an increase in the rate of rotation of the crystal lattice and to a reorientation of the polarization vector in a direction as close as possible to the plane of the substrate; a mechanism for its rotation was proposed.