Polarization fatigue in ferroelectrics: Fundamentals and recent developments

In this paper, we firstly give a brief review on the fundamentals and recent developments on polarization fatigue in ferroelectric materials. The LPD-SICI model (LPD-SICI stands for local phase decomposition induced by switching-induced charge injection) developed by the present author and his colleagues has been introduced and discussed in detail. The main scenario proposed for polarization fatigue in ferroelectrics in the LPD-SICI model is that the unscreened bound charge formed at the tip of the needle-like domain at the very early stage of polarization reversal will induce an intensive charge injection (mostly electrons) near the electrode-film interface, and subsequently local Joule heating, and finally local phase decomposition around the domain nucleation site. By reviewing the recent progress on experimental studies of electrical fatigue in a variety of ferroelectric samples in both thin film and bulk form, we show that the LPD-SICI model is in good agreement with most of the observations published in the last three years in the literature. Therefore, local phase decomposition induced by switching-induced charge injection may indeed be the generic reason for polarization fatigue in a variety of ferroelectric materials, and probably antiferroelectric materials as well.