Direct measurement of the domain switching contribution to the dynamic piezoelectric response in ferroelectric ceramics

Abstract

The dynamic piezoelectric response of ferroelectric ceramics is comprised of both intrinsic (piezoelectric lattice strain) and extrinsic (non-180° domain wall motion) components. Here the authors report direct measurements of non-180° domain wall motion in ceramic lead zirconate titanate during application of subcoercive cyclic driving electric fields using an in situ stroboscopic neutron diffraction technique. During unipolar cycling at 1Hz and half of the coercive field, non-180° domain switching gives rise to approximately 34% of the measured d33 coefficient of 400pm∕V.