Time-resolved X-ray scattering study of the ferroelectric phase transition in BaTiO3.

We have carried out a high-resolution X-ray scattering study of the first- order paraelectric (PE) to ferroelectric (FE) transition of BaTiO3, and confirm that BaTiO3 is a solid state analog of a fluid near the liquid-gas critical point. Using a pulsed electric field to cross the PE-FE phase boundary, and time resolving the scattered X-ray intensity, we find that the FE phase grows sublinearly with time after a well-defined delay relative to the pulse onset.