Cb. Fleddermann et Ja. Nation, FERROELECTRIC SOURCES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO PULSED-POWER - A REVIEW, IEEE transactions on plasma science, 25(2), 1997, pp. 212-220
We present in this review an account of recent research into the use o
f ferroelectrics as electron beam sources for pulsed power application
s, The work is reviewed according to the ferroelectric material used a
nd the switching process employed, Most of the current research uses P
LZT or PZT, which can be ferroelectric, antiferroelectric, or paraelec
tric depending on the stoichiometry, Switching is accomplished by the
application of a fast-rising electric field to the ferroelectric mater
ial, The most commonly used materials are PLZT 2/95/5 and PLZT 8/65/35
or PZT (with no lanthanum): in the former case, the applied field swi
tches the material from the antiferroelectric state to the ferroelectr
ic state, and in the latter cases, around a hysteresis loop, Results h
ave been reported with ferroelectric cathodes where current densities
of up to a few hundred amperes per square centimeter have been achieve
d, with pulse durations of several microseconds, With shorter duration
pulses and with PLZT cathodes, repetition rates of up to 2 MHz have b
een achieved, In this paper, we focus on the results reported in the l
iterature, and include a brief account of the physical interpretation
of the data, The possible use of ferroelectric sources for pulsed powe
r applications is indicated.