The effect of nitrogen ion implantation on the physical and dielectric properties of cobalt-doped PZT ceramics

Cobalt-doped PZT ceramics (Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)(1-x)CoxO3, where x = 0.005, 0.010, 0.015 and 0.02, were implanted by nitrogen ions at 70 keV with fluences of 1 x 10(17) and 5 x 10(17) ions/cm(2). XRD patterns showed that, following nitrogen ion implantation, the perovskite structure was maintained but a higher intensity and more sharp (2 0 0) peak was observed, indicating the occurrence of structural distortion and/or ferroelastic domain switching in the near-surface region. Polarisation-electric field hysteresis loop measurements indicated the reduction of saturation polarization, remanent polarization, and coercive field for all samples implanted at the highest N+-ion fluence of 5 x 10(17) ions/cm(2). The dielectric properties showed reductions in both relative permittivity and dielectric loss, indicating a hardening effect in these nitrogen-ion-implanted samples.