Self-polarization and energy storage performance in antiferroelectric-insulator multilayer thin films

Antiferroelectrics are famous for their unique electric field-induced phase transition polarization behavior, which have a wide application in the fields of power electronics and electrical engineering. In this work, Al 2 O 3 and PbZrO 3 films are chosen as the insulator and antiferroelectric, respectively, and the multilayer thin films are fabricated by chemical solution method. The microstructure and electrical performances are systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that antiferroelectric-insulator multilayer films exhibit remarkable ferroelectricity which may be induced by the self-polarization effect. The constructed PbZrO 3 /Al 2 O 3 bilayer films accompany an amazing remanent polarization of 43 μC/cm 2 , and the PbZrO 3 /Al 2 O 3 /PbZrO 3 trilayer films possess excellent energy storage performance. The values of recoverable energy storage density of 32.6 J/cm 3 and efficiency of 88.1% are obtained for trilayer films annealed at 550 °C, meaning that the design of antiferroelectric-insulator multilayer structure is an effective approach to regulate polarization behaviors and enables the films to have excellent energy storage performances. • PbZrO 3 /Al 2 O 3 antiferroelectric/insulator multilayer films have been constructed for the first time. • The PbZrO 3 /Al 2 O 3 multilayer films exhibit remarkable ferroelectricity. • The recoverable energy storage density of 32.6 J/cm 3 and efficiency of 88.1% have been obtained.