Correlation between fatigue and piezoelectric properties in (Pb, La) (Zr, Ti)O3 thick films

The correlation between the ferroelectric fatigue and variations in piezoelectric properties in a 8/65/35 (Pb, La) (Zr, Ti)O-3 thick film was studied by simultaneous measurements of the polarization hysteresis loop, the strain-field loop, the piezoelectric constant, and the dielectric constant during cycling. It was found that the fatigue reflects itself in the variations of the piezoelectric constant and the induced strain. Namely, during cycling both quantities decrease for the same relative amount as the remanent polarization. In addition, the effective electrostriction constant as a function of switching cycles was determined. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)03401-5].