Field amplification and ferroelectric switching in a bilayer linear insulator-ferroelectric heterostructure

Langmuir-Blodgett thin-film heterostructures consisting of molecular layers of the ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) and an insulator (the azo dye) are prepared and studied. A physical model is proposed for amplification of a local electric field in regions of arrangement of the dye and ferroelectric molecules. Experimental studies of the ferroelectric switching confirm that, in the heterostructures, the effective external coercive voltage decreases and the switched polarization increases.