High-pressure (GPa) impedance measurements based on an indentation-induced local stress field

Electrical measurements of conducting and dielectric materials under high pressures (in the order of GPa) reveal important information regarding orbital overlaps, electronic states, changes in transition temperatures, and activation volumes (ΔV). In this study, we demonstrate a new method for high-pressure impedance measurements, up to 4 GPa, utilizing an indentation-induced local stress field. The current system does not require any pressure mediums or pressure calibrations. The ΔV for O2 − ion conduction in 10 mol% Y2O3-doped zirconia at 500 °C was estimated to be 3.0 cm3 mol− 1. ΔV increased with increasing temperatures from 500 to 600 °C. The technique also allows the concurrent determination of the effective elastic modulus by fitting the experimental data obtained from the indentation load–depth profile curve with the Hertzian elastic model. The experimental values were consistent with the theoretical values.