Nondestructively measuring the remanent polarization of PZT 95/5 ceramics at room temperature

Abstract

PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramics are widely utilized in pulsed power devices and the remanent polarization Pr of poled PZT95/5 can characterize the shock‐driven energy density. However, this remanent polarization is difficult to be measured nondestructively. In this article, a series of pyroelectric tests of poled PZT95/5 ceramics were conducted near room temperature, from 25°C to 20°C. A linear relation between Pr and pyroelectric coefficient p was found, that is, Pr=1190.5(K)×p, which provides an effective way to nondestructively estimate the value of Pr of the poled PZT95/5 ceramics by measuring the pyroelectric coefficient p at room temperature. According to Devonshire's phenomenological theory, this result could be explained by a modified equation: pεr=αPrC, where ɛr represents the relative dielectric constant, C represents the Curie constant, and α (equals to 0.52 for PZT95/5 ceramics) represents a modification factor for ceramics, respectively.