Time relaxation of metastable chaotic state in TlInS2

Abstract

The results of measurements of the time dependences of the dielectric constant of T1InS(2) in the commensurate ferroelectric phase are presented. The observation of the decay of epsilon at different stabilized temperatures below the commensurate phase transition temperature after cooling from the incommensurate phase revealed the presence of two characteristic relaxation time constants with a different temperature behaviour. This peculiarity is considered as a result of the occurance of a chaotic state accompanied by the coexistence of different commensurate ferroelectric phase structures in the temperature range between 194 and 200 K. As a result, the dielectric anomaly at about 195 K is considered as a phase transition accompanied by the destruction of the improper ferroelectric polarization. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.