Possible observation of a glassy ferroelectric: Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu2.8K0.2Oz - art. no. 012101

A glass sample of composition Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu2.8K0.2Oz\ was prepared by the conventional quenched-melt technique. The as-quenched sample has been c onfirmed to be amorphous by x-ray diffraction measurements. The scanning el ectron microscopy shows no sign of crystalline grain precipitation. Differe ntial thermal analysis indicates a prominent endotherm at 530 K in addition to the glass transition at 607 K and crystallization at 717 K and melting at 1043 K. this extra endothermic peak could possibly be identified as due to a ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition. This possibility was e xplored by performing electrical measurements which include dielectric cons tant trace, polarization, and hysteresis loops measurements as a function o f temperature. It was also found that the transition is irreversible if the glass-transition temperature was reached.