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

The effects of irradiation by X rays and protons on the dielectric and piezoelectric response of highly (100)-textured polycrystalline Pb(ZrxTi1-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. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.