Experimental study on ferroelectric self-heating and dissipation in PZT due to sub- and supercritical bipolar electric loading

Dissipation in two types of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate ceramics under bipolar electric loading at different frequencies and amplitudes is experimentally investigated. Immersing the specimens in an oil bath and measuring temperatures at some distance allows conclusions to be drawn about the dissipation power, based on a correlation from calibration tests with a Joule heat source. While several mechanisms of self-heating are known to prevail in polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramics, the transition of loading from below to above the macroscopic coercive electric field is of particular interest, revealing the increasing predominance of domain switching, partly leading to mechanical failure. The dissipation power densities presented for different electric load amplitudes and frequencies may eventually provide a valuable opportunity to validate constitutive models of polycrystalline ferroelectrics.