Piezoelectric and strain properties of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O3 ceramics

The polarization and strain behavior of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 (x=0-0.3) ceramics are studied. The unipolar strain levels of similar to0.18% at 40 kV/cm and of similar to0.25% at similar to120 kV/cm with small hysteresis were obtained for the ceramics with 0.03less than or equal toxless than or equal to0.08. The remnant polarization is similar to13-18 muC/cm2 for 0.03less than or equal toxless than or equal to0.08 and below 2 muC/cm2 for 0.15less than or equal toxless than or equal to0.3 at room temperature. The electromechanical coupling coefficient K-33=56.5% and the piezoelectric stain coefficient d(33)=236 pC/N were obtained for the ceramics with x=0.05. These results indicated that the Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 system is a promising lead-free high strain material for applications. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.