Diffusion-induced domain inversion in ferroelectrics

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Abstract
The basic property of ferroelectric crystals is switching of the direction of the macroscopic electric dipole moment under applying of an external electric field. Recently the polarization reversal effect without the external electric field has been discovered. It occurs under some treatments, namely, during proton-exchange. Ti,Rh-indiffusion in LiNbO3, out(in)-diffusion in LiNbO4, and LiTaO3, under Rb ionexchange and out(in)-diffusion at elevated temperature in KTiOPO4. The effect takes place at any polar surface and it is observed both far and near the Curie temperature. As a result a bidomain structure is formed. The diffusion-induced polarization reversal in ferroelectrics represents a new physical phenomenon and it is widely used in modern electronics and nonlinear optics. The studies of the effect are based on several traditional and new methods providing necessary data about the spontaneous polarization distribution and electrical parameters of these structures. In this paper, we review recent progress in the understanding of this phenomenon.