Electrocaloric characteristics in reactive sintered 0.87Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3–0.13PbTiO3

Abstract

Only little data have been published on direct electrocaloric measurement of Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) ceramics. In this paper, the electrocaloric characteristics of 0.87PMN-0.13PT ceramic were determined by direct measurements. A strong transition in the electrocaloric effect was found at about 18°C, which is the same as the depolarization temperature Td. The maximum electrocaloric temperature rise was ΔT=0.558°C at TECm=70°C and E=2400kV∕m, well above the transition at Td=18°C. The existence of two maximums could be an indication of several mechanisms being responsible for the electrocaloric effect.