FORMATION OF BIDOMAIN STRUCTURE IN LITHIUM NIOBATE WAFERS FOR BETAVOLTAIC ALTERNATORS

This article discusses the possibility of increasing the efficiency of betavoltaic generators by using lithium niobate single−crystal bimorph as the piezoelectric transducer element. Existing betavoltaic alternating voltage generators consist of a piezoelectric cantilever and a  electron source, wherein the cantilever is a resilient member, for example silicon, to which a PZT ceramics piezoelectric element is connected. In this study we suggest changing the structure of the silicon cantilever with a piezoelectric element for a uniform cantilever which is a thin plate of bidomain lithium niobate single crystal. This increases the efficiency of converting mechanical vibrations to electrical power, Q of the system, and the stability of the working parameters, and furthermore significantly increases — up to several hundred degrees — the operation temperature range. We have considered in details the solution of the main task —formation of a bidomain structure in a thin lithium niobate plate. A method of the sample high−temperature annealing in a nonuniform electric field is proposed. The possibility of domain structure prediction on the basis of the developed model is shown. Samples with a domain boundary depth of 120—150 microns have been obtained, and we have shown that the clarity of the boundary depends on the voltage between the working cell strip electrodes and the external electrode. The method is effective for bidomain structure formation in plates of about 300 microns in thickness.

: lithium niobate, ferroelectric, domain structure, ferroelectric transducer, betavoltaic generator

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