Flexible ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 epitaxial films with large radiation and high-temperature tolerance

Abstract

Radiation and temperature hardness are important for electronic devices operating in harsh environments such as modern medical equipment, outer space, and nuclear energy industries. In this work, we report radiation and temperature-hardened flexible ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 epitaxial films that were grown on flexible inorganic mica substrates via van der Waals heteroepitaxy and can be further used for building high-performance electronic devices. We systematically investigated the effect of 60Co-gamma radiation and temperature on the ferroelectric properties of Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films and their flexibility as well. Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films exhibit a radiation and temperature tolerance of up to 20 Mrad and 175 °C, respectively. In particular, the 20 Mrad-irradiated Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 film has an excellent retention even after 105 s with extrapolate retention time longer than 10 years and polarization fatigue up to 1010 cycles as well as moderate flexibility and bending stability after bending 105 cycles. Furthermore, we identified that the degradation of macroscopic ferroelectric properties of irradiated Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films originates from the ferroelectric domain pinning effect induced by the ionization effect. Our work demonstrates that flexible ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 films are promising for developing novel flexible electronic devices for applications in harsh environments.

Radiation-Hardened and Flexible Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 Piezoelectric Sensor for Structural Health Monitoring

“…30 Therefore, we consider that the radiation hardness of flexible PZT films grown on mica substrate may benefit from the high quality of crystal structure in PZT films (i.e., the absence of impurity phases and the wellpreserved cell parameters as discussed above) due to vdW epitaxy. 19,27,32 Based on the above analysis, the flexible PZT film exhibits robust ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties against strong fluence LE-HFPs radiation. To investigate the LE-HFPs radiation effects on flexible PZT film sensors for the Lambwave-based SHM measurement, PZT piezoelectric sensors were fabricated.…”

“…Due to the superior radiation tolerance, perovskite oxide films, − especially lead-based series films, such as PbTiO 3 , Pb­(Zr 1– x Ti x )­O 3 , and 0.7Pb­(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )­O 3 -0.3PbTiO 3 , are widely used as piezoelectric sensors, field effect transistors, and ferroelectric random access memories in harsh environments. − As one of the applications of lead-based materials, Lamb-wave-based structural health monitoring (SHM) systems rely on Pb­(Zr 1– x Ti x )­O 3 piezoelectric ceramics to excite and receive Lamb-wave response signals before and after damage occurs, thereby detecting damage and ensuring the safety of aerospace vehicles. − However, the rigid and fixed dimensions of Pb­(Zr 1– x Ti x )­O 3 ceramics hinder their application in damage monitoring on complex curved structures. And a heavy burden is brought to the aerospace vehicle by the weight of the Pb­(Zr 1– x Ti x )­O 3 ceramic network.…”

“…Recently, fluorphlogopite (KMg 3 (AlSi 3 O 10 )­F 2 , mica) substrate has attracted researchers’ attention due to its extraordinarily high thermal stability and flexibility. − Oxide film heterostructures can grow on mica substrate via van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy, where the weak vdW interaction between film and mica substrate can significantly reduce the clamping effect, thus significantly improving the film’s crystal quality and enhancing its radiation tolerance. ,,, Furthermore, perovskite films grown in the (111) orientation (the preferred growth orientation on mica substrate) exhibit better performance than those grown in other orientations . Our recent work has demonstrated that flexible (111) oriented epitaxial mica-based PZT memory’s ferroelectric performance exhibits robust tolerance to gamma ray irradiation . Therefore, mica as a flexible substrate may provide a new platform for flexible electronics with high-dose radiation and high-temperature tolerance.…”

“…25−28 Oxide film heterostructures can grow on mica substrate via van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy, where the weak vdW interaction between film and mica substrate can significantly reduce the clamping effect, thus significantly improving the film's crystal quality and enhancing its radiation tolerance. 19,27,29,30 Furthermore, perovskite films grown in the (111) orientation (the preferred growth orientation on mica substrate) exhibit better performance than those grown in other orientations. 31 Our recent work has demonstrated that flexible (111) oriented epitaxial mica-based PZT memory's ferroelectric performance exhibits robust tolerance to gamma ray irradiation.…”

“…31 Our recent work has demonstrated that flexible (111) oriented epitaxial mica-based PZT memory's ferroelectric performance exhibits robust tolerance to gamma ray irradiation. 19 Therefore, mica as a flexible substrate may provide a new platform for flexible electronics with high-dose radiation and hightemperature tolerance. Herein, we prepared high-quality flexible PbZr 0.53 Ti 0.47 O 3 (PZT)/SrRuO 3 (SRO)/BaTiO 3 (BTO) heteroepitaxy films on mica substrates.…”