Mechanisms of energy storage deterioration in Mg-doped PbZrO₃ thin-film capacitors during cyclic charge-discharge

Dielectric materials employed in capacitors have attracted considerable interest owing to their promising applications in high-power pulsed energy storage systems. Despite this interest, research on the deterioration of these materials’ energy storage properties under charge-discharge cycling and the underlying mechanisms remains limited. This study investigates the energy storage behavior of magnesium-doped PbZrO₃ (Mg-PZO) thin-film capacitors following charge-discharge cycling. By analyzing the energy storage properties across various charge-discharge cycles and employing the local phase decomposition caused by switching-induced charge injection (LPD-SICI) model developed by Lou et al., we propose that highly doped M-PZO films exhibit less severe formation of “dead spots” and therefore require a longer cycling process to develop a “dead layer”. Consequently, this work provides novel insights into the mechanisms underlying the deterioration of energy storage properties in antiferroelectric and/or ferroelectric energy storage thin-film capacitors under charge-discharge cycling.