Dielectric constants of bulk ferroelectric PZT measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

Abstract

The complex permittivity of bulk ceramic ferroelectric of nominal composition PbZr_0.4Ti_0.6O₃ was measured in the range 0.2–2 THz using transmission time-domain spectroscopy. The results indicate strong absorption and dispersion in this frequency range as often seen in highly disordered and polar materials. The results are compared to equivalent thin film data in the literature, and significant differences in the real and imaginary permittivity suggest that substrate clamping and degree of polarisation of the ferroelectric thin film materials affect dielectric properties even at these high frequencies.

Keywords:

• Ferroelectric
• THz
• Dielectric constant
• Piezoelectric
• PZT
• Spectroscopyz

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Measurement Office of the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills, and was conducted as part of an Engineering Doctorate in Micro- and NanoMaterials and Technologies funded by the UK's EPSRC, grant EP/G037388/1.

ORCID

M. G. Cain http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8413-3104