Anomalous Polarization in Ferroelectrics and other Oxides

The presence of a large relaxation polarization in a number of metal oxides is reported. It is shown that this phenomenon cannot be explained in terms of ferroelectricity or in terms of the Maxwell-Wagner effect. A series of experiments are described from the results of which it is deduced that the materials behave as solid state secondary cells. It is suggested that oxygen vacancies act as charge carriers and interact with the metal electrodes deposited on the specimen.