Impact of ionizing radiation on structural,dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of Sr modified PZT

Ion irradiation effects on piezoceramic (Pb_0.94 Sr_0.04) (Zr_0.52 Ti_0.48)O₃ (PSZT) are investigated by using 4 MeV carbon (C), 9 MeV copper (Cu), and 20 MeV gold (Au) ions. The energies of incident ions are selected in order to target the same range of all incident ions in the material, while producing different amounts of vacancies. The ion irradiation is performed with fluences of 1×10¹³, 1×10¹⁴, and 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm² using Tandem Pelletron accelerator (5UDH-2). Post irradiation changes in PSZT are investigated via various structural, dielectric, and piezoelectric measurement techniques. Results divulge that the irradiation process disturbs the crystallinity along with reduction in X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak intensities owing to strain induced structural defects. A small decrease in dielectric constant is observed due to trapped charges, which screen the depolarization after irradiation. However, a significant decrease is detected in piezoelectric charge coefficients (d₃₃) and piezoelectric voltage coefficients (g₃₃) due to switching of micro domains of PSZT as a result of energy observed during irradiation process. These results indicate that ion irradiation has damaging effects on the properties of PSZT. The discussed information may be utilized to assess performance of PSZT based devices under radiation rich environments such as space.