Influence of quenching conditions on the kinetics of formation of a domain structure of ferroelectrics

The kinetics of the formation and growth of 180$^\circ$ domains in a weak quasi-stationary external electric field has been investigated theoretically in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau model within the statistical approach for proper ferroelectrics used as an example. The influence of the temperature quenching and the strength of an external electric field applied after quenching on the subsequent evolution of the system toward the thermodynamic equilibrium has been analyzed. It has been shown that, despite the polarizing role of the external electric field, in the case of a weak field the formation of a multi-domain structure is more preferable than the direct transition to a single-domain state of ordering. It has been established that the formation of nonequilibrium (“virtual”) multi-domain states is possible under the given initial conditions for specific quenching temperatures of the sample and at particular strengths of the electric field applied to the ferroelectric after quenching. It has been found that, for all depths of quenching, there is a time delay (incubation period) in the formation of a multi-domain structure of the ferroelectric. This situation occurs when, immediately after the quenching of the sample, the dispersion of the polarization is sufficiently large and the initial size of quenched polarization inhomogeneities is relatively small.