Temperature dependence of high field electromechanical coupling in ferroelectric ceramics

P M Weaver (1) , M G Cain (1) , M Stewart (1)

1 NPL - National Physical Laboratory [Teddington]

A study of the temperature dependence of the electromechanical response of ferroelectric Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) ceramics at high electric fields (up to 1.3 kV /mm) is reported. Simultaneous measurements were performed of strain, electric field and polarisation to form a complete response map from room temperature up to 200C. An electrostrictive model is shown to provide an accurate description of the electromechanical response to high levels of induced polarisation and electric field. This provides a method for decoupling strain contributions from thermal expansion and polarisation changes. Direct measurements of electrostriction and thermal expansion, above and below the Curie temperature are reported. Electrostriction coefficients are shown to be temperature dependent in these ceramic materials, with different values above and below the Curie temperature.

Mots clés: 77.80.-e; 77.65.-j; 85.50.-n; 85.80.Jm

P M Weaver, M G Cain, M Stewart. Temperature dependence of high field electromechanical coupling in ferroelectric ceramics. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2010, 43 (16), pp.165404. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/43/16/165404⟩. ⟨hal-00569584⟩