High-Symmetry Polarization Domains in Low-SymmetryFerroelectrics.

We present experimental evidencefor polygonal domain faceting in the ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) films with the lower orthorhombiccrystallographic symmetry. It is proposed that this effect can arisefrom purely electrostatic depolarizing forces. We show that, in contrastto magnetic bubble shape domains, where such type of deformation instabilityhas a predominantly elliptical character, the emergence of more symmetricalcircular harmonics is favored in ferroelectrics with high dielectricconstants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]