6533b7cffe1ef96bd1259a32
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Isothermal relaxation of discommensurations in K2ZnCl4
A. GueldryG. NiquetV. SigoillotMario Maglionesubject
010302 applied physicsMaterials scienceCondensed matter physicsTransition temperatureGeneral EngineeringStatistical and Nonlinear PhysicsDielectricAtmospheric temperature range01 natural sciencesFerroelectricityIsothermal processHysteresisCondensed Matter::Materials SciencePhase (matter)[PHYS.HIST]Physics [physics]/Physics archives0103 physical sciencesRelaxation (physics)010306 general physicsdescription
At the incommensurate-ferroelectric transition temperature T c of K 2 ZnCl 4 , the dielectric susceptibility contains an anomalous contribution both above and below T c . Previous quasi-static dielectric measurements and hysteresis loops demonstrated that this anomalous part arises from the peculiar dynamics of discommensurations. We have used isothermal dielectric measurements to get some insight into the long time dynamics of these discommensurations. We have found that the characteristic relaxation times τ are of the order of 10 4 s in the incommensurate and in the ferroelectric phase. Even more unusual is a non-monotonous relaxation which is observed in a restricted temperature range above and below T c . In agreement with previous results in Rb 2 ZnCl 4 , this is ascribed to the pinning of discommensurations by defects. We show, for the first time, that the crossover time of this peculiar relaxation increases drastically at the same temperature under either heating or cooling conditions
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-08-01 |