High Voltage Generation With Transversely Shock-Compressed Ferroelectrics: Breakdown Field on Thickness Dependence

The ability of ferroelectric materials to generate high voltage under shock compression is a fundamental physical effect that makes it possible to create miniature autonomous explosive-driven pulsed power systems. Shock-induced depolarization releases an electric charge at the electrodes of the ferroelectric element, and a high electric potential and a high electric field appear across the element. We performed systematic studies of the electric breakdown field, E
_b
(d), as a function of the ferroelectric element thickness, d, for Pb(Zr
_0.95
Ti
_0.05
)O
₃
(PZT 95/5) and Pb(Zr
_0.52
Ti
_0.48
)O
₃
(PZT 52/48) ceramics compressed by transverse shock waves (shock front propagates perpendicular to the polarization vector) and established a relationship between these two values: E
_b
(d) = const· d
^-ξ
. This law was found to be true in a wide range of ferroelectric element thicknesses from 1 to 50 mm. This result makes it possible to predict ferroelectric generator (FEG) output voltages up to 500 kV and it forms the basis for the design of ultrahigh-voltage FEG systems.