Impedance Spectroscopy of Lead-Free Ferroelectric Coatings

This paper presents impedance measurements of ferroelectric structures involving lead-free oxide and polymer-oxide composite coatings for sensing and energy harvesting applications. Three different ferroelectric materials grown by conventional microfabrication technologies on solid or flexible substrates are investigated for their basic resonant characteristics. Equivalent electrical circuit models are applied to all cases to explain the electrical behavior of the structures, according to the materials type and thickness. The analytical results show good agreement with the experiments carried out on a basic types of excited thin-film piezoelectric transducers. Additionally, temperature and frequency dependences of the dielectric permittivity and losses are measured for the polymer-oxide composite device in relation with the surface morphology before and after introduction of the polymer to the functional film.