Electrosciences is excited to announce the publication of a paper, in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), on the defect structure in polycrystalline Piezo ceramics, measured from room temperature down to 77K. In our research, the ESRF Beamline 18 shone high energy X-rays through the samples, revealing pores and other defects as small as a few micro-metres.

By reducing the temperature, we were then able to observe the thermal contraction of the samples resulting in changes to the defect morphology and distribution. Concurrently, the electrical response of the samples was measured using capabilities developed at the Beamline 28 (XMaS), allowing us to correlate micro-structural changes with electrical polarisation down to low temperatures.

X-rays provide a unique and non-destructive probe (the samples were untreated and uncut). Piezo ceramics have many application and uses, for example in space exploration. Therefore, our low-temperature measurements support their deployment in such environments. More details can be found in our paper DOI : https://lnkd.in/eKC4mrxe