A Continuum Model of a Compressed Piezoelectric ZnO Rod: Analytical and Numerical Study

Abstract

An analytical model of a compressed piezoelectric ZnO rod is presented using two approximations. In one approximation, the total volume of the model system is maintained a constant, i.e., when a compressive force is applied vertically on the ZnO system, it is allowed to be deformed in the lateral direction. In the second approximation, the top potential of the ZnO rod is used as a constant initially. Later, this is approximated as a function of the radius after obtaining the first solution to observe the radial effects on the ZnO system potential. In the model used in this study, a ZnO rod of 880 nm in diameter and 700 nm in length was compressed by a tensile force of 10(7) N/m(2). The scaled magnitude of the potential (a two-dimensional contour map) shows a radial distribution of the potential. The radial effects are directly reflected on the piezoelectric potential and the device design is required to minimize such a potential variation to achieve better uniform device performance and efficiency.