Effects of ferroelectric switching on the piezoelectric small-signal response (d33) and electrostriction (M33) of lead zirconate titanate thin films

The effects of an increasing small signal amplitude on the piezoelectric small-signal response and electrostriction of tetragonal Pb(Zr-x, Ti1-x)O-3 thin films are investigated. The piezoelectric small-signal coefficient d(33), piezoelectric large signal-strain S, and electrostriction coefficient M-33 are measured using a double-beam laser interferometer. A continuously increasing influence of the small signal amplitude is found starting at very low values. In particular, the impact on the measured coercive field E-c is found to be stronger than the impact of the cycling frequency of the applied bias field. Also, unexpected electrostrictive behavior is investigated and explained by the influence of ferroelectric switching on the intrinsic piezoelectric lattice strain. Furthermore, the influence of an applied small-signal on the piezoelectric large-signal response is investigated. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.