Theoretical investigation of the thickness effect of ferroelectric incorporating semiconducting properties

Stability of ferroelectric phase and its thickness-dependence were theoretically investigated by incorporating the semiconductor properties of ferroelectrics into the Ginzburg–Landau GL.theory, which successfully explained experimental results for ferroelectric oxides, e.g., BaTiO3. An expression of the GL energy of a ferroelectric in a complex structure was derived. Using the energy, the semiconductivity was found to suppress the instability more effectively than the inhomogeneity =P.- and multidomain-effects. q1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.