Determination of intrinsic ferroelectric polarization in lossy improper ferroelectric systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates measurement protocols for accurately determining intrinsic ferroelectric polarization in lossy, improper ferroelectric systems, highlighting the effectiveness of a fourteen-pulse train method for reliable results.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis of measurement protocols and proposes an optimized fourteen-pulse train method for extracting intrinsic polarization in challenging ferroelectric materials.

Findings

The fourteen-pulse train protocol yields more reliable intrinsic polarization measurements.

Different measurement protocols significantly affect the accuracy of polarization data.

Protocol selection can be tailored based on polarization magnitude and leakage characteristics.

Abstract

We measured the intrinsic hysteretic polarization in lossy improper and nanoferroelectric systems where the nonhysteretic polarization and leakage are large and the relaxation takes place over a broader time scale. We used different measurement protocols such as standard single triangular voltage pulse, a pulse train of PUND (Positive Up Negative Down), and an even more complicated pulse train of fourteen voltage pulses and compared the results obtained. We show that a protocol which sends a train of fourteen pulses is more appropriate for extracting relaxed (i.e., time scale independent) and intrinsic remanent polarization for these samples. We also point out that it is possible to select and design an appropriate measurement protocol depending on the magnitude of polarization and leakage of the system.