Kinetics of the Formation of Ferroelectric Domain Structures upon Second-Order Phase Transition

The kinetics of relaxation of the quenched ferroelectric domain structure to the state of thermodynamic equilibrium was studied within the framework of phenomenological Landau theory of second-order phase transitions. The threshold nature of the formation of the regular domain structures, depending on the parameters of the external electric field, was found. It has been shown that the critical value of the amplitude of an external high-frequency electric field greatly depends on quenching only at the vicinity of Curie point (T-C - T-1 <= 3K). At larger quenching depths, the critical value of the amplitude of the electric field is determined only by its frequency. The formed regular domain structures was found to remain stable even after switching off the external electric field.