Analysis of a composite piezoelectric semiconductor cylindrical shell under the thermal loading

Abstract

We study the electromechanical and piezotronic behaviors of a composite piezoelectric semiconductor cylindrical shell (CPCS), which consists of a piezoelectric dielectric layer and a non-piezoelectric semiconductor layer, under a uniform temperature loading. A simplified one-dimensional (1D) multi-field coupling model for the CPCS structure is established. The analysis of the tuning effect of the thermal loading as well as the effects of the geometrical parameters and the mechanical boundary conditions on the piezotronic behaviors of the CPCS structure is conducted with the derived theoretical model. The numerical results show that the carriers and the electromechanical fields in the semiconductor layer of the considered CPCS structure are sensitive to the temperature change, geometrical parameters, and mechanical boundary conditions, which are useful for developing novel temperature-related or thermally-controlled piezotronic devices based on the proposed CPCS structures.