Abstract
Significant suppression of the switchable polarization of SrBi2Ta2O9(SBT) capacitors can be induced by ultra-violet irradiation, and the degradation in retained polarization is dependent upon the initial polarization states and the irradiation time. This can be well explained based on the model of weak pinning and mobility of domain walls. Furthermore, repeated cycling of the irradiated capacitor results in substantial recovery of the switchable polarization, and this recovery is applied voltage dependent. Experimental results indicate that the domain walls of SBT thin films can be weakly pinned by charge trapping and depinned by charge detrapping.