Using the SMDTA technique, thermal properties and kinetics of the ferroelectric phase transition in a highly deuterated triglycine selenate sample have been studied under electric field E. For E = 0 and due to an internal break in the sample, the transition is carried out in two stages whose temperatures differ in about 0.1 K. The specific heat follows the Landau theory predictions even in the coexistence interval. The latent heat has been evaluated to be 1.32 Jg −1 on cooling and 1.08 Jg −1 on heating for E = 0. The different values on heating and on cooling for E = 0 are explained in terms of thermal hysteresis. The specific heat, the latent heat and the kinetics of the transformation have investigated for E = 800 Vcm −1 . The latent heat under this field is found to be 1.25 Jg −1 on cooling and 0.65 Jg −1 on heating.
Acknowledgments
This work has been supported by Project BFM2002-02237 of the Spanish DGICYT.
Paper originally presented at IMF-11, Iguassu Falls, Brazil, September 5–9, 2005; received for publication January 26, 2006.