Lead zirconate titanate

About: Lead zirconate titanate is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7141 publications have been published within this topic receiving 150878 citations.

Electromechanical properties of lead zirconate titanate piezoceramics under the influence of mechanical stresses

Abstract: In lead zirconate titanate piezoceramics, external stresses can cause substantial changes in the piezoelectric coefficients, dielectric constant, and elastic compliance due to nonlinear effects and stress depoling effects. In both soft and hard PZT piezoceramics, the aging can produce a memory effect that will facilitate the recovery of the poled state in the ceramics from momentary electric or stress depoling. In hard PZT ceramics, the local defect fields built up during the aging process can stabilize the ceramic against external stress depoling that results in a marked increase in the piezoelectric coefficient and electromechanical coupling factor in the ceramic under the stress. Although soft PZT ceramics can be easily stress depoled (losing piezoelectricity), a DC bias electric field, parallel to the original poling direction, can be employed to maintain the ceramic poling state so that the ceramic can be used at high stresses without depoling.

Polarization imprint and size effects in mesoscopic ferroelectric structures

Abstract: Piezoresponse scanning force microscopy measurements performed on lead zirconate titanate mesoscopic structures revealed a negative shift of the initial piezoelectric hysteresis loop. The shift is dependent on the size of the structure and is most probably due to the pinning of ferroelectric domains at the free lateral surface and ferroelectric–electrode interface. Considering a simple model, the thickness of the pinned domain layers is found to be about 15 and 70 nm at the ferroelectric–electrode interface and lateral free surface, respectively.

Giant polarization in super-tetragonal thin films through interphase strain.

Abstract: Strain engineering has emerged as a powerful tool to enhance the performance of known functional materials. Here we demonstrate a general and practical method to obtain super-tetragonality and giant polarization using interphase strain. We use this method to create an out-of-plane-to-in-plane lattice parameter ratio of 1.238 in epitaxial composite thin films of tetragonal lead titanate (PbTiO3), compared to 1.065 in bulk. These thin films with super-tetragonal structure possess a giant remanent polarization, 236.3 microcoulombs per square centimeter, which is almost twice the value of known ferroelectrics. The super-tetragonal phase is stable up to 725°C, compared to the bulk transition temperature of 490°C. The interphase-strain approach could enhance the physical properties of other functional materials.

Perovskite stabilization and electromechanical properties of polycrystalline lead zinc niobate-lead zirconate titanate

Abstract: The perovskite structure of Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZN) ceramics was stabilized by adding a Ti-rich side tetragonal Pb(Zr0.47Ti0.53)O3 (PZT) across the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). The 0.5 PZN–0.5 PZT specimen was found to have a two-phase zone, having a high piezoelectric coefficient, d33 (430 pC/N), an electromechanical coupling factor, kp (0.67), a field-induced strain, S (0.24% at 2 kV/mm), and a remnant polarization, Pr (27 μC/cm2). A phase transition from a rhombohedral to tetragonal phase occurred when a relatively low electrical field was applied to the specimen. This transformation occurred only when the rhombohedral phase coexisted with an equal amount of the tetragonal phase of the perovskite structure. Small rhombohedral domains, which were present around the relatively large tetragonal domains, transformed as a result of the applied field. The excellent electromechanical properties at the MPB composition are attributed to this phase transition in the PZN based ceramics.