A dynamic method for the measurement of pyroelectric properties of materials

Abstract

This study introduces a novel experimental set-up to measure the pyroelectric coefficient of materials at variable frequencies of temperature change. In this method, temperature changes are periodically applied through a mechanical set-up moving the sample between a hot and cold thermal reservoir in order to measure the current obtained from the sample’s pyroelectric conversion effect. For low frequencies of temperature change, an exponential equation is suggested for the temperature change in the sample based on a unidirectional heat flux through the sample. The pyroelectric coefficient can be determined from this model by fitting an exponential decay function to the pyroelectric current obtained from a single heating cycle. In comparison to other approaches for the measurement of the pyroelectric effect, the described method exhibits some advantages concerning flexibility, accuracy and simplicity, e.g. an almost deliberate adjustment of the rate of temperature change, the avoidance of electrical noise induced by continuously temperature-modulated heat stages and furnaces, a high accuracy of temperature control and the acceptance of samples made from different materials or with different sizes. The method is verified by pyroelectric coefficient measurements on a commercial PZT ceramic and on triglycine sulfate (TGS) single crystals, which have been grown by a temperature-lowering technique in our laboratory. Pyroelectric measurements were conducted at different temperature differences for samples with different thicknesses and contact areas. The measurement results for PZT M202 (427 ± 1 μC m–2 K–1) are close to the datasheet value, which is 430 μC m–2 K–1. An average pyroelectric coefficient of 306 ± 2 μC m–2 K–1) is measured for the single crystal of TGS over multiple trials. The measurement results depend on the quality of the crystal and the process for the preparation of the sample. The results show internal consistency between the measurements, which are also in agreement with literature values.