LINKS BETWEEN ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL FATIGUE IN PB(ZR,TI)O-3 THIN-FILMS

Switchable polarization can be significantly suppressed in ferroelectr ic (FE) materials by electrical or optical processes, Electrical suppr ession can occur by subjecting the FE to repeated polarization reversa ls; optical suppression can occur while biasing the FE near the switch ing threshold and illuminating with bandgap light. A link between the two processes in Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (PZT) thin film capacitors is demonstrat ed by showing a relationship between the amount of the suppressed pola rization induced by the two methods, This observation suggests that th e optical method may be a useful, simple, and time-saving probe of a m aterial's susceptibility to fatigue. These results further support the view that polarization suppression in PZT thin films induced by elect rical fatigue largely involves electronic charge trapping.