PST thin films for electrocaloric coolers

T M Correia (1, 2) , S Kar-Narayan (3) , J S Young (3) , J F Scott (4) , N D Mathur (3) , R W Whatmore (5) , Q Zhang (1)

1 Department of Materials
2 NPL - National Physical Laboratory [Teddington]
3 Department of Materials Science
4 Cavendish Laboratory
5 Tyndall National Institute [Cork]

Relaxor behaviour in a thin film of partially ordered PbSc 0.5 Ta 0.5 O 3 (PST) was confirmed via slim P-E loops and the frequency dependence of the temperature at which the dielectric constant is maximum. Indirect measurements of the electrocaloric effect suggest that removing a field of 774 kV cm -1 yields a temperature change of -3.5ºC to -6.9ºC over a broad range of operating temperatures near room temperature (1 ºC-127 ºC), with a correspondingly large refrigerant capacity of 662 J kg -1. In addition to low electrical hysteresis, there is negligible thermal hysteresis. PST thin films are therefore promising for EC cooling near room temperature.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

T M Correia, S Kar-Narayan, J S Young, J F Scott, N D Mathur, et al.. PST thin films for electrocaloric coolers. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2011, 44 (16), pp.165407. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/44/16/165407⟩. ⟨hal-00613273⟩