Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 Textured Ceramics with High Piezoelectric Response by a Novel Templated Grain Growth Approach

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 is used as a model system of perovskite solid solutions with very high piezoelectric response at tailored morphotropic phase boundaries to demonstrate the processing of textured ceramics by ceramic-only technology. A novel homogeneous templated grain growth approach that uses conventional ceramic procedures and a single-source nanocrystalline powder for the matrix and also for obtaining the templates is described. Two batches of (100) faceted cube-shaped microcrystals with average sizes of 27 and 10 mu m were successfully used as templates, and aligned by tape casting for the processing of < 001 >-textured Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics. Materials with effective piezoelectric coefficients up to 1000 pC/N and ferroelectric properties approaching those of single crystals are obtained.