Effects of high energy x ray and proton irradiation on lead zirconate titanate thin films' dielectric and piezoelectric response

摘要

The effects of irradiation by X rays and protons on the dielectric and piezoelectric response of highly (100)-textured polycrystalline Pb(Zr_xTi_(1-x))O_3 (PZT) thin films have been studied. Low-field dielectric permittivity, remanent polarization, and piezoelectric d_(33,f) response all degraded with exposure to radiation, for doses higher than 300 krad. At first approximation, the degradation increased at higher radiation doses, and was stronger in samples exposed to X rays, compared to the proton-irradiated ones. Nonlinear and high-field dielectric characterization suggest a radiation-induced reduction of the extrinsic contributions to the response, attributed to increased pinning of the domain walls by the radiation-induced point defects.