Response of piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate to 20 MeV electron beam irradiation

The response of the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) element to an irradiated 20 MeV electron beam was studied. Both the resonant and antiresonant frequencies of the PZT element were measured under irradiation, and then the variation of the electromechanical coupling factor was investigated. It was found that the coupling factor linearly decreased with increasing beam energy absorbed in the PZT element, whereas the surface temperature remained constant. We propose a dosimeter based on piezoelectric PZT.