PZT 52/48 Ferroelectric Ceramics: Depolarization and Electric Breakdown under Longitudinal Explosive Shock

Electric breakdown within longitudinally explosively shockedPb(Zr₀.₅₂Ti₀.₄₈)O₃ (PZT 52/48) ferroelectric ceramics was investigated. It was experimentally demonstrated that electric breakdown causes significant energy losses in miniature autonomous generators based on shock depolarization of poled ferroelectric elements. We found that a dependence of breakdown field strength, E[subscript g], of shocked ferroelectric, on the thickness of the element, d, is described by the E[subscript g](d) = γ·d[superscript -w] law which describes breakdown measurements for a variety of dielectric materials at ambient conditions. The analysis of experimental results showed that the tunnel effect is a dominant mechanism of injection of prime electrons in the shocked ferroelectrics. © 2011 IEEE