Exploring dielectric switching in zinc telluride during exposure to an acoustic shock wave: A structural and optical perspective

This study examines the dielectric switching behavior of zinc telluride (ZnTe) subjected to controlled acoustic shock-wave loading using a semi-automatic Reddy tube. Dielectric measurements were conducted on samples exposed to 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 shock pulses. The dielectric constant (ε_r) showed strong frequency dependence, with ε_r decreasing from 264 (pristine at 100 Hz) to 51.3 (100 shocks), followed by increases to 142 (300 shocks) and 228 (400 shocks). This enhancement at 300 shocks corresponds to a shock-induced phase transition from the cubic F-43m to the Fm-3m phase. The dielectric loss (tan δ) initially ranged from 0.0155 (pristine at 100 Hz) to 0.1598 (100 shocks) but decreased sharply to 0.4326 (300 shocks) and further to 0.0230 (400 shocks), demonstrating dielectric switching behavior. Impedance spectroscopy revealed the highest Z′ and Z″ at 300 shocks, indicating maximum resistive and capacitive contributions due to defect density and interfacial polarization. An electric modulus analysis confirmed non-Debye relaxation with relaxation peak shifts and broadening of arcs, while the conductivity increased significantly to 7 × 10^-6 S/cm at 400 shocks. These findings confirm that ZnTe exhibits tunable dielectric switching under shock-induced stress, making it a promising candidate for adaptive high-frequency dielectric and capacitive device applications.