PZT 52/48 ferroelectric ceramics: Depolarization and electric breakdown under longitudinal explosive shock

Electric breakdown within longitudinally explosively shocked Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT 52/48) ferroelectric ceramics was investigated. It was experimentally demonstrated that electric breakdown causes significant energy losses in miniature autonomous generators based on shock depolarization of poled ferroelectric elements. We found that a dependence of breakdown field strength, E_g, of shocked ferroelectric, on the thickness of the element, d, is described by the E_g(d) = γ·d^-w law which describes breakdown measurements for a variety of dielectric materials at ambient conditions. The analysis of experimental results showed that the tunnel effect is a dominant mechanism of injection of prime electrons in the shocked ferroelectrics.