Photosensitivity enhancement by H- and He-ion implantation in lead lanthanum zirconate titanate ceramics

H- and He-ion implantation has been used to increase the photoferroelectric image storage sensitivity of lead lanthanum zirconium titanate ceramics by factors of ∼10 and ∼30, respectively. The increased photosensitivity can be attributed primarily to implantation-produced disorder, which increases the efficiency of carrier photoexcitation and trapping and reduces the exposure energy required to establish nonvolatile space-charge fields. Implantation-induced disorder may also contribute to a substantial increase in photoconductivity in the ion-damaged near-surface region.