Electrical and Optical Properties of Ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12 Single Crystals
The symmetry of ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12 is shown to be monoclinic point group m. The spontaneous polarization PS is approx 50 μC/cm2 at 25°C and lies in the monoclinic a-c plane at an angle of less than 5 deg from the plane of the crystal sheets. A complete determination of the optical indicatrix as a function of temperature is given. Switching for fields along the c axis occurs by a unique ``rocking'' of the large PS vector and leads to interesting electrical-optical behavior. The domain structure is quite complex, and observed wall orientations are compared with those predicted theoretically.