A poling study of lead zirconate titanate/polyurethane 0–3 composites

Abstract

0–3 composites of lead zirconate titanate particles dispersed in a thermoplastic elastomer polyurethane matrix were fabricated. The dielectric permittivity and loss of the composite film were measured and compared to the theoretical values. The composites were polarized by the ac fields at different frequencies. With the application of the Sawyer-Tower circuit, the D-E hysteresis loops of the composites can be measured during the poling process. By decreasing the poling frequency, the composite sample shows a larger “remanent” polarization at the same poling field. To evaluate the poling effectiveness, the pyroelectric coefficients of the poled composite samples were measured by a dynamic method.