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Porous, Functionally Gradient Pyroelectric Materials
Author(s) -
Shaw Christopher P.,
Whatmore Roger W.,
Alcock Jeffrey R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2006.01373.x
Subject(s) - pyroelectricity , materials science , porosity , figure of merit , ceramic , composite material , dielectric , pyroelectric crystal , responsivity , layer (electronics) , thermal , optoelectronics , ferroelectricity , photodetector , thermodynamics , physics
Properties of a new type of pyroelectric ceramic structure containing a layer of known porosity laminated between two dense layers, to form a functionally gradient material (FGM), are reported. The combination of theoretical models for pyroelectric, dielectric, and thermal properties gave a model for the pyroelectric voltage figure of merit ( F V ) in good agreement with experiment, which had shown a 20% improvement for an introduced central layer porosity of 27%. Preliminary pyroelectric responsivity measurements on FGM infrared detectors indicated an even better improvement. It is postulated that this is due to the porous layer acting as a thermal barrier in the structure.