Polarization switching behavior of (Pb,Nb)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 ferroelectric ceramics under high-power pulse condition in microsecond scale

Abstract

Abstract In the present work, the polarization switching of polycrystalline (Pb,Nb)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 (PNZST) ferroelectric (FE) ceramics in microsecond scale was investigated by pulse switching experiment. Typical switching current similar to that of FE single crystal and thin films was observed in PNZST ceramics, directly proving the completion of the switching process in microsecond scale. The increase of switching current and decrease of switching time with increasing electric field and temperature were confirmed and explained by the acceleration of the nucleation and growth rate of domains. However, the distortion of the pulse voltage also results in difficulty to analyze the switching current via Merz’s equation, which was usually neglected in previous works. In addition, the pulse switching dynamic is also found to be a current-limiting process and strongly depends on the circuit parameters. By increasing the resistance of the in-series resistor, the switching process will be hindered, leading to the decrease of switching current and longer switching period. More importantly, the curve of polarization versus electric field (P–E) was obtained by the switching current and a distinct difference was observed compared with the 0.1 Hz P–E curve. The above results prove the possibility of using PNZST ceramics in high-power pulse technology and will give some important guidance for the designation of FE devices.