Giant pyroelectric coefficient determined from the frequency dependence of the pyroelectric signal generated by epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 layers grown on single crystal SrTiO3 substrates

Abstract

Epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 layers of good structural quality were grown on single crystal SrTiO3 substrates. The pyroelectric coefficient was estimated from the signal generated by the ferroelectric film working as a pyroelectric detector in the voltage mode, without pre-poling procedure. The obtained value is as high as 1.9 × 10−3 C/m2 K. The large value is attributed to the presence of 90° ferroelectric domains and to the compressive misfit strain, leading to an enhanced ferroelectric polarization.