Influence of side electric potential on hysteresis loop parameters and electric permittivity in the Rochelle salt

It has been shown that the application of an electric potential to relatively narrow side electrodes of a thin perpendicular parallelepiped Rochelle salt sample plate leads to the disappearance of the hysteresis loop. The effect is permanent and can be observed after the side potential disconnection. Moreover, a reduction of both zero-field longitudinal permittivity maxima at the critical points is visible then. A non-zero remanent polarization and a non-zero coercive field are then able to be observed only at temperatures higher than that of the lower critical point and lower than that of the upper critical one. No corresponding temperature shift in reduced permittivity maxima has been noticed. A transition to below the lower critical point for the next few hours does not lead to restoration of the original properties formerly lost during the side potential application in the ferroelectric phase. Such restoration is possible by annealing the sample above the upper critical temperature.