The electrical properties of low-temperature sintered 0.07Pb(Sb1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.93Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 multilayer piezoceramic actuator

f0.07Pb(Sb1/2Nb1/2)O-3-0.93Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3 (PSbN-PZT) piezoceramics were fabricated at a low firing temperature of 920 degrees C using the LiBiO2, CuO and ZnO (LBCZ) sintering aids. The material samples exhibited excellent properties, including a converse piezoelectric coefficient d(33)* of similar to 558 pm/V, a relative dielectric permittivity epsilon(T)33/epsilon(0) of similar to 1725, a planar coupling factor k(p) of similar to 0.6 and a high Curie temperature T-c of similar to 308 degrees C, thus demonstrating the material suitability for use as a low-cost multilayer actuator. PSbN-PZT piezoceramic multilayer actuators with Ag/Pd internal electrodes were fabricated by tape casting method cofired at 920 degrees C. A large displacement of 1.45 mu m was achieved in a single PSbN-PZT multilayer actuator (thickness = 2.0 mm) at the driving voltage of 125 V, while the displacement decreased similar to 27% under the mechanical stress of similar to 32 MPa. Good temperature stability was also exhibited in PSbN-PZT multilayer actuator, which was better than that of commercial PZT-5H ceramic. These results indicated that low-temperature fired PSbN-PZT multilayer actuator is a promising candidate device for commercial piezoactuator applications.

Automated summary

PSbN-PZT piezoceramics were fabricated at a low firing temperature using LBCZ sintering aids, exhibiting excellent properties for low-cost multilayer actuators. The material showed a high Curie temperature, good temperature stability, and promising potential for commercial piezoactuator applications.