Curie-Weiss law in thin-film ferroelectrics

Abstract

The stationary self-polarization field of a thin film in an open circuit is analytically solved for temperatures near the para-/ferroelectric transformation within the Ginzburg-Landau theory. For second-order ferroelectrics, or first-order ferroelectrics with a sufficiently large elastic self-energy of the transformation strain, the solution is real and stable, from which the corresponding electric susceptibility of the film can be derived. A Curie-Weiss-type relation of the permittivity is obtained for both the supercritical and subcritical temperature regimes near the transition. In the paraelectric state, the Curie parameter of the thin film is found to be independent of its thickness, whereas in the ferroelectric state, its magnitude decreases rapidly with decreasing film thickness.