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
_0.52
Ti
_0.48
)O
₃
, 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
_0.95
Ti
_0.05
)O
₃
). 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.