AbstractThe piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of highly (111)-textured polycrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films as a function of Zr/Ti composition have been investigated. The peak in piezoelectric coefficient at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) observed in bulk PZT ceramics has not been found in thin film PZTs. Measurement of the piezoelectric response as a function of AC amplitude suggests that non-180° domain wall motion in these films is negligible, indicating that the extrinsic contribution to the room temperature dielectric constant is dominated by only 180° domain wall motion. The semi-empirical phenomenological equation relating the piezoelectric coefficient to measured polarization and permittivity values is demonstrated to give an excellent description of the piezoelectric behavior in these films, assuming bulk electrostrictive coefficients. The small deviation between calculated and measured piezoelectric coefficients as well as the dependence of piezoelectric and polarization behavior on the external dc field, i.e., hysteresis loop, are suggested to be primarily due to backswitching of 180° domains.
An in situ diffraction study of domain wall motion contributions to the frequency dispersion of the piezoelectric coefficient in lead zirconate titanate
