Abstract

The ferroelectric phase transition on the free surface of a polymer ferroelectric Langmuir-Blodgett film was studied by the optical second harmonic generation (SHG) technique. A hysteresis in the temperature dependence of the SHG intensity observed for a multilayer film of a poly(vinylidene fluoride)-trifluoroethylene copolymer in the vicinity of T approximate to 15degreesC is a manifestation of the first-order ferroelectric phase transition in the topmost surface monolayer of the film. (C) 2003 MAIK dqNauka / Interperiodicadq.