Ferroelectric switching characteristics of nylon 11

The time-domain measurement of polarization reversal has been made for melt-quenched and uniaxially-drawn nylon 11. An application of a high step electric field is found to induce a fast switching of remnant polarization 40 mC/m/sup 2/ being independent of the field strength in the 120-240 MV/m range. The switching time depends upon the field strength according to an exponential law. Extrapolating to an infinite field yields a switching time of 1 /spl mu/s. As the field is decreased, polarization reversal is obscured to disappear below 40 MV/m and the field dependence of the switching time is transferred to a power law. These results conclude that nylon 11 is a ferroelectric polymer analogous to vinylidene fluoride copolymers.