Quasi-stable states of TGS ferroelectric induced by an electric field perpendicular to the ferroelectric axis

The remanent polarization decay in the course of time has been observed in TGS crystals placed in an electric field perpendicular to the ferroelectric axis. If this field is switched off at any stage of such an experiment, th e present form of the hysteresis loop will remain unchanged. The samples wi th the reduced remanent polarization value of our choice can be produced in this manner. Such stable states of TGS may persist provided that the chara cteristic temperature T-n, is not exceeded. It has been also confirmed that a prolonged Sawyer-Tower driving field application leads to the restoratio n of the original dielectric properties. The origins of remanent polarizati on suppression have been also discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.