Thermally stable piezoelectric performance in low-temperature sintered Pb 0.95 Ba 0.01 Sr 0.04 (Zr 0.53 Ti 0.47 )O 3 ceramics with a low loss factor

Abstract

Herein, Pb_0.95Ba_0.01Sr_0.04(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ piezoelectric ceramics comprising 0.25 wt% MnCO₃, 1 wt% LiBiO₂ and 0.06 wt% CuO (PBSZT-LBCu-Mn ceramics, abbreviated as Mn0.25) were prepared via a conventional method at a low firing temperature of ∼900 °C. The phase structure and temperature-dependent electrical properties were systematically investigated. The product composition possesses the following properties: normalised strain (d₃₃*) ∼362 pm/V, Curie temperature (T_c) ∼336 °C, mechanical quality factor (Q_m) ∼568, loss factor (tan δ) ∼0.0058 and relative dielectric constant (ϵ_r) ∼872. The remnant polarisation (P_r), maximum polarisation (P_max) and coercive field (E_c) slightly decreased as a function of increasing temperature, while the strain (S_pol) was observed to increase. Additionally, d₃₃* values of 362 and 411 pm/V were achieved at 25 °C and 120 °C, respectively, with a change ratio <14%. The Mn0.25 ceramics exhibit low ϵ_r and tan δ values, leading to small average power dissipation, which is beneficial for high-frequency actuator applications.