Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is an organic polymer whose monomer unit has a high net electric dipole moment. Spontaneous polarization in PVDF can be reversed by application of an electric field, and PVDF can in this sense be considered a ferroelectric polymer. Furthermore, poled PVDF has been shown to have large pyroelectric and piezoelectric coefficients. In recent years these effects have been well investigated in PVDF and its copolymers. This material has found applications in the ultrasonic transducers and infrared detectors technologies. PVDF is easily and inexpensively manufactured compared to ferroelectric single crystals or ceramics. It is flexible, light in weight, and can be pressed into thin films.

© 1994 Optical Society of America