FRL–FRH phase transition behavior in the stacked Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 perovskite ceramics

Zirconium rich Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 (PZT in abbreviation) reveals a pronounced nonlinear pyroelectric effect at the temperature induced FRL–FRH phase transition. This characteristic makes it a competitive candidate for the applications of the direct thermal-electric energy conversion and infrared detecting technology. However the narrow FRL–FRH phase transition temperature range (about 2°C around the pyroelectric peak) restricts its wide applications. A stacked multi-layer PZT ceramics made by PZT 97/3 (Zr/Ti ratio) with different Nb2O5 dopants is expected to solve this problem. In the paper the FRL–FRH phase transition behavior in a stacked three-layer PZT ceramics has been investigated. The results show that a smooth FRL–FRH phase transition can take place in a certain temperature range. The XRD interface line analysis of the distribution of Nb5+ content exhibits apparent Nb5+ ion diffusion between each two layers. The Nb5+ ion diffusion has significant effects on the behavior of the output pyroelectric current. A simple experiment has been explored to confirm this effect.