Comparison of polarization distribution measurement by the LIMM and PWP methods

Two different methods of measurement of polarization distributions in piezoelectric materials, the LIMM and the PWP method, are compared. After briefly describing the two techniques, we report measurements made on different PVDF based samples, one with a symmetric and the other one with an antisymmetric structure. Although the LIMM responds to diffusion of heat and the PWP method to the propagation of a pressure wave, the direct observation of the raw data gives similar information in both cases as far as the symmetry of the polarization distribution is concerned. Then we analyze the specific characteristics of each method.