Optical Imaging and Information Storage in Ion Implanted Ferroelectric Ceramics

TLDR: In this article, it was shown that the photosensitivity of ferroelectric-phase lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics is dramatically improved by ion implantation into the surface exposed to image light.

Abstract: Photographic images can be stored in ferroelectric-phase lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics using a novel photoferroelectric effect. These images are nonvolatile but erasable and can be switched from positive to negative by application of an electric field. We have found that the photosensitivity of ferroelectric PLZT is dramatically improved by ion implantation into the surface exposed to image light. For example, the intrinsic photosensitivity to near-UV light is increased by as much as four orders of magnitude by co-implantation with Ar and Ne. The increased photosensitivity results from implantation-induced decreases in dark conductivity and dielectric constant in the implanted layer. Furthermore, the increased photoferroelectric sensitivity has recently been extended from the near-UV to the visible spectrum by implants of Al and Cr. Ion-implanted PLZT is the most sensitive, nonvolatile, selectively-erasable image storage medium currently known.