Mc-Studies of static and dynamic properties of domain walls

Abstract

Static and dynamic properties of ferroelectric domain walls are studied by Monte-Carlo-simulations of the two-dimensional Ising model. The width, the free energy and the distribution of the center positions relative to the lattice are determined as functions of temperature and of the interaction anisotropy. Free energies are obtained separately for walls with centers nearly midway between and nearly coinciding with lattice planes, and the former are shown to be more stable. The motion of walls in external fields is studied for various temperatures. For the finite lattices considered, the walls are found to move rather stepwise, especially at low temperatures.