An evaluation of switching criteria for ferroelectrics under stress and electric field

Abstract The multi-axial responses of barium titanate (BaTiO3) and hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT-4D) are measured for stress and electric field loadings, and are compared to the response of soft lead zirconate titanate (PZT-5H) taken from a previous study. First, poled ferroelectric specimens are subjected to an electric field at an angle to the original poling direction. Second, unpoled ferroelectric specimens are loaded by a uniaxial compressive stress and a parallel, proportional electric field. The switching surfaces of BaTiO3 and PZT-4D are constructed from the experimental measurements, and compared with existing data for PZT-5H. The measured responses are then used to evaluate the accuracy of existing micromechanical and phenomenological models of ferroelectric switching.