FERROELECTRIC SOURCES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO PULSED-POWER - A REVIEW

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.