Ultrahigh electrostrictive coefficient and hysteresis-free electrostrictive strain in textured BCZT ceramic

Precision-controlled systems necessitate electronic actuators with large displacement, high precision, and miniaturization. Therefore, advanced ferroelectric functional ceramic materials must exhibit substantial displacement responsiveness, minimal hysteresis, and performance stability. Modifying electrostrictive ceramics to enhance the electrostrictive coefficient (Q(33)) through conventional doping strategies has proven challenging. To address this, grain-oriented textured ceramics harness crystalline anisotropy to elevate Q(33) and electrostrictive strain response. In this work, we employ the template grain growth (TGG) method integrating preprepared BaTiO3 (BT) microtemplates, to cultivate <001>-oriented 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BCZT) ceramics. Remarkably, the <001>-oriented BCZT ceramic manifests a substantial Q(33) value of 0.066 m(4)/C-2, marking a 65 % increase compared to randomly oriented ceramics. Under 100 kV/cm, ultra-high electrostrictive strain response (0.23%) and minimal hysteresis (1-8%) were achieved. Crucially, this elevated Q(33) remains thermally stable within the range of 20-100 degrees C. This advancement not only enables the production of electrostrictive ceramics with improved Q(33) and hysteresis-free strain but also broadens the application horizon of BCZT-based electrostrictive ceramics within high-precision actuator technologies.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the development of <001>-oriented BCZT ceramics with a high Q(33) value and excellent performance stability, achieved through the use of template grain growth method. These ceramics exhibit a significant increase in Q(33) compared to randomly oriented ceramics, and also demonstrate ultra-high electrostrictive strain response and minimal hysteresis. The elevated Q(33) remains thermally stable, making it suitable for high-precision actuator technologies.