Electrical Characteristics of Lead Lanthanum Zirconate Titanate Capacitors

Capacitors in DC-link applications for solar power systems should maintain stable electrical characteristics under high voltage and high switching frequency conditions. Recently, lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) capacitors have attracted attention due to their high dielectric strength and stable capacitance characteristics even under high voltage. However, the electrical characteristics of PLZT capacitors for power electronics applications have not been sufficiently investigated. This study investigates the electrical characteristics of VR = 500 V, Cnom,typ = 250 nF PLZT capacitors. Our measurements indicate that the high capacitance observed even under high DC voltage is induced by its antiferroelectric dielectric response. The measured capacitance increased with DC bias, which is consistent with the field-dependent dielectric response of antiferroelectric PLZT. One device exhibited DC breakdown at 1.16 kV. These results provide baseline electrical data for evaluating PLZT capacitors in high-voltage power-conversion applications.