Structure and electrical properties of (1-x)(0.1BiYbO(3)-0.9PbTiO(3))-xPb (Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3 high-temperature ternary piezoelectric ceramics

The microstructure and electrical properties of a new ternary high temperature piezoelectric ceramic system (1 - x)(0.1BiYbO(3)-0.9PbTiO(3))-xPb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3 (BYPT-PZN, x=0.05-0.5) were reported. The ternary system had a perovskite main phase with a tetragonal symmetry. With increasing PZN content, the tetragonality decreased, and interestingly, both the piezoelectric properties and mechanical quality factor of the samples were largely improved. Microstructural characteristics indicated that the improved piezoelectric performance was also due to the improved density, structural stability and homogeneity. The sample with 40 mol% of PZN (x=0.4) showed the optimum piezoelectric response and a T, of around 400 C. However, direct high temperature d(33) measurement via the Berlincourt method indicated that depolarization in the sample did not occur up to 350 degrees C. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.