ABSTRACTBased on the direct piezoelectric effect, the measurement of piezoelectric module d33 was conducted to examine the self-poling effect in sol-gel derived Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 (PZT) thin films. It is observed that as-prepared PZT thin films have piezoelectric responses being dependent upon the film thickness and composition. The higher d33 of 26 pC/N is achieved for ∼0.4 μm thick PZT thin films with Zr/Ti ratio of 53/47. The d33 value decreases with increasing the film thickness for as-prepared PZT thin films, however, increases for the same film after external poling. The origin of the self-poling effect was briefly discussed based on the formation of an internal bias field in PZT thin films.
