Small-scale piezoelectric devices: Pyroelectric contributions to the piezoelectric response

The recent trend in miniaturization of piezoelectrically active devices is driving research on size effects of these functional materials under reduced length scales. In this paper, we measure and model the generation of charge in thin piezoelectric structures under sinusoidal hydrostatic pressure and show how the subsequent thermally induced pyroelectric effect dominates the response in the smallest samples. We calculate the temperature profiles through the lead zirconate titanate structures, and determine the pyroelectric coefficient in these materials to be p′=0.28±0.02 mC m−2 K−1. The analysis of the piezoelectric and pyroelectric charge response described in this paper has significant impact on the design and fundamental functional behavior of small-scale piezoelectric devices.