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High Electrocaloric Effect in Lead Scandium Tantalate Thin Films with Interdigitated Electrodes
Veronika Kovacova1, Sebastjan Glinsek1, Stephanie Girod1
1Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 41 Rue du Brill, L-4422 Belvaux, Luxembourg.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 10, 2022
Summary
Lead scandium tantalate (PST) thin films show significant electrocaloric effects, achieving a record temperature variation of 15.7 K. Stress engineering offers a new method to tune this temperature variation for advanced cooling applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Physics
- Thermodynamics
Background:
- Lead scandium tantalate (Pb(Sc,Ta)O3, PST) is a promising electrocaloric material.
- Multilayer ceramic capacitors made of PST can achieve temperature differences over 13 K.
- Thin film fabrication offers potential for miniaturized cooling devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate PST thin films fabricated via sol-gel chemical solution deposition.
- Explore the use of interdigitated electrodes for high electric field application.
- Characterize structural, electrical, and electrocaloric properties.
Main Methods:
- Sol-gel chemical solution deposition for PST thin film fabrication.
- High-quality film deposition on c-sapphire and fused silica substrates.
- Structural and electrical characterization, including electrocaloric temperature variation using Maxwell relations.
Main Results:
- High-quality PST films were successfully fabricated on various substrates.
- A maximum electrocaloric temperature variation of 15.7 K was achieved on a c-sapphire substrate under 1330 kV/cm.
- Tensile stress from fused silica shifted the PST transition to lower temperatures, demonstrating stress tunability.
Conclusions:
- PST thin films exhibit the highest electrocaloric temperature variation reported to date.
- Interdigitated electrodes enable high electric field application for enhanced effects.
- Stress engineering provides a pathway to tune the electrocaloric performance of PST films.
