A new effective method for direct electrocaloric measurements under arbitrary heat exchange conditions is proposed. The accuracy and reliability of the sample temperature measurements in dynamic provided by the use of mid-IR photodiode temperature sensors with the possibility of the in-situ calibration procedure

Detection of breakdown voltage and diagnostics of the pre-breakdown state of a material is a topical task of studying the characteristics of dielectric materials and structures on their base under applied external electric field. A new efficient method for diagnosing the pre-breakdown state of multilayer structures (MLC) based on the 0.55PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3-0.45PbSc1/2Nb1/2O3 (PMN-PSN) ferroelectric relaxor is considered. The method is based on the analysis of the dynamics of the MLC surface temperature changes upon application of an external electric field. A set of MLC samples was tested under the action of an electric field E = 10 - 120 kV/cm at temperatures from room temperature to 80 ℃. The critical electric field value characterizing the pre-breakdown state and, consequently, limiting the upper level of operating voltages for electrocaloric applications, was determined for PMN-PSN multilayer structures.

Temperature response of a material to an external electric field is the main method for electrocaloric effect study in ferroelectrics. In this work, for 0.65 PbFe2/3W1/3O3 – 0.35 PbTiO3 solid solution as a model object, it is shown that with an increase in the electric field strength, current filamentation effect can occur. It leads to formation of local regions of increased conductivity in the sample. The associated thermal effect have short characteristic times, due to the small volume of the filament. They are comparable to the times of the electrocaloric response of the material, and can lead to significant errors in the detection of the electrocaloric effect.