An in-situ Raman spectroscopic investigation of PLZT ceramic under a coupled mechanical-electrical load

A novel in-situ Raman spectroscopic observation system was established to investigate the microscopic behaviors of lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) polycrystalline ceramic under a coupled mechanical-electrical load. The compressive stress ranging from 0 MPa to 548.8 MPa and the constant electric field of 2000 V/mm were simultaneously applied to the as-prepared rectangular PLZT specimen with a typical tetragonal structure and an empirical composition of Pb0.86La0.10Zr0.57Ti0.43O2.86. It was found that the 5-time averaged in-situ Raman spectra obtained within the same grain in the PLZT ceramic by varying the polarization direction from 0 degrees to 180 degrees were susceptible to the coupled mechanical-electrical load. The Raman intensity (I) and the polarization angle (theta) may be related by I = I-m sin (2 theta + phi + k. Under the action of the same intensity of the incident light, the variations in the fitting parameters k, I-m, and f might be referred to the changes in the orientation distributions and material constants of Raman tensors. The polarization direction for the Raman scattering intensity reaching maximum (theta(max)) may be determined by 2 theta(max) = pi/2 -phi. The apparent reduction in Raman intensity and slight enhancement in.max were observed under a coupled mechanical-electrical load.

Automated summary

The novel in-situ Raman spectroscopic observation system was used to study the microscopic behaviors of lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) polycrystalline ceramic under a coupled mechanical-electrical load. The study found that the Raman intensity and polarization angle were related and that under the mechanical-electrical load, the Raman intensity decreased while the maximum value slightly increased.