Ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate under radial load

Ferroelectric and ferroelastic properties are closely entwined in piezoelectric perovskites. Research on this topic has been mostly limited to collinear action of electric field and mechanical load. Here, the effect of a radial mechanical load and an axial electric field applied simultaneously to a cylindrical lead zirconate titanate sample is investigated. The dielectric constant after poling under load indicates that domain wall movement is facilitated, while the number of domain walls is reduced. Hysteresis measurements show that the remnant polarization and coercive field depend characteristically on the load, with a clear behavior change at the ferroelastic coercive stress. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics