Study of pinched loop characteristics of lead zirconate titanate (65/35)

We report the effect of processing parameters such as (1) uniaxial and (2) isostatic pressings on ferroelectric behavior of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) having Zr/Ti ratio 65/35. The effect of temperature (-125-250 degrees C) on pinched loop characteristics of uniaxially pressed PZT is also reported. Polycrystalline ceramic samples were synthesized by solid-state reaction technique and sintered at 1250 degrees C. The density was estimated to be 7.63 and 7.58 g/cc for the uniaxially and isostatically pressed samples, respectively, prepared by conventional ball milling. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed single phase formation with rhombohedral structure. All samples pressed uniaxially and isostatically showed pinched hysteresis loops at room temperature that disappear at higher temperatures. The remnant polarization (P-r) and coercive field (E-o) for the uniaxially pressed samples become well defined in magnitude and shape at higher measurement temperatures below phase transition temperature (T-c), but at low temperatures a distorted-loop-like structure was observed indicating low polarization properties. The effect of ferroelectric switching cycles on the PZT samples with and without annealing in oxygen is also discussed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.