Polarization relaxation in thin-film relaxors compared to that in ferroelectrics

Epitaxial thin films of relaxor PbMg1∕3Nb2∕3O₃ and PbSc0.5Nb0.5O₃, and ferroelectric PbZr0.65Ti0.35O₃, Pb0.955La0.045Zr0.65Ti0.35O₃, and Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO₃ were prepared, and their dielectric properties were studied in a broad range of the measurement conditions. In the ferroelectric state, the presence and the change of configuration of the domains determined the dynamic dielectric nonlinearity and the polarization hysteresis. In thin-film relaxors, the orientation of the randomly interacting dipoles in a random field was responsible for the dynamic dielectric nonlinearity, while the observed hysteresis was suggested to arise due to connection between the applied field and the relaxation times of both the dipoles and the internal field. In thin-film (Ba,Sr)TiO₃, the high-temperature dielectric hysteresis was found to be relaxorlike.