Development of ferroelectric materials for explosively driven pulsed-power systems

First demonstrated in the 1950´s, ferroelectric generators (FEG) have been shown to be versatile compact pulsed-power sources. An FEG works by subjecting a ferroelectric ceramic to a high-pressure shock-wave typically produced by a high-explosive charge. The resulting compression causes the ferroelectric to release the electric charge stored within its crystal structure. Most explosively-driven FEG research has used commercial-off-the-shelf piezoelectric compositions such as lead zirconate-titanate ( Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃, i.e. PZT ). Although these materials can be used to demonstrate pulsed-power and RF weapons concepts, they do not deliver enough energy to field compact devices. To solve this problem a manufacturing process was developed to produce a higher energy-density composition known as PZT 95/5 ( Pb(Zr_0.95Ti_0.05)O₃). This material, originally developed by Sandia National Laboratories in the 1960´s, is capable of storing much more energy than commercially available PZT materials and is also capable of releasing all of its stored energy very rapidly (~1 ¿s) by virtue of a pressure-induced phase transition. This paper discusses the development, testing, and scale-up of TRS´ ´Shock-HV´ FEG material. This modified PZT 95/5 has been demonstrated to provide 2 to 3 times more power output than state-of-the-art materials. This new material will allow the development of a new generation of powerful, yet compact, FEG-based devices thus enabling a broad range of man-portable pulsed-power devices and RF weapons.