Structure dependence of ferroelectric properties of bismuth layer-structured ferroelectric single crystals

Ferroelectric properties along the a(b) axis and c axis in single crystals of various bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics (BLSFs) were investigated. By measuring saturated P-E hysteresis curves of BLSFs, values of the saturated remanent polarization and the coercive electric field were found to be related to the Curie temperature and the number of BO6 octahedra (m) between bismuth layers, respectively, along the a(b) axis. The saturated remanent polarization was larger in the BLSF with a higher Curie temperature. This is attributed to a large atomic displacement accompanied by a high Curie temperature. In contrast, the saturated coercive electric field was smaller in the BLSF with a larger number of in. This phenomenon is assumed to be caused by the decrease in the strain energy of the octahedra from the bismuth layer, which leads to an easy movement of the octahedral cations in the direction of an applied external electric field. Along the c axis, the BLSFs with an odd number of in had the same relationship, that is, the saturated remanent polarization was larger with the high Curie temperature, and the saturated coercive field was smaller with the large In number. However, no remanent polarization was confirmed in the BLSFs with an even number of m. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.