Modeling of Hysteresis Properties of Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films

It is proposed that the polarization reversal mechanism in ferroelectric ceramics such as titanates is controlled by nucleation, growth, merging and shrinkage of ferroelectric domains. These domain phenomena are in turn determined by the nature of Barkhausen jumps, internal electric field, and dielectric relaxation times of the dipoles. Based on the proposed polarization reversal mechanism, a quantitative model was developed for simulating the hysteresis properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films. The simulated hysteresis loops are in good agreement with the experimental results.It was observed that dielectric viscosity, which is very useful in understanding fatigue and aging behavior of PZT thin films, is one of the key parameters that controls the hysteresis properties.