Flash annealing-engineered wafer-scale relaxor antiferroelectrics for enhanced energy storage performance.

Dielectric capacitors are essential for energy storage systems because of their high-power density and fast operation speed. However, optimizing energy storage density with concurrent thermal stability remains a substantial challenge. Here, we develop a flash annealing process with ultrafast heating and cooling rates of 1000°C per second, which facilitates the rapid crystallization of PbZrO3 film within a mere second, while locking its high-temperature microstructure to room temperature. This produces compact films with subgrain boundary fractions of 36%, nanodomains of several nanometers, and negligible lead volatilization. These contribute to relaxor antiferroelectric film with a high breakdown strength (4800 kilovolts per centimeter) and large polarization (70 coulombs per square centimeter). Consequently, we have achieved a high energy storage density of 63.5 joules per cubic meter and outstanding thermal stability with performance degradation less than 3% up to 250°C. Our approach is extendable to ferroelectrics like Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 and on wafer scale, providing on-chip nonlinear dielectric energy storage solutions with industrial scalability.