Lead-free (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3-Y2O3 ceramics with large piezoelectric coefficient obtained by low-temperature sintering

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 654 - 657
• Main Authors: Cui, Yerang, Yuan, Changlai, Liu, Xinyu, Zhao, Xiayan, Shan, Xu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2013; Springer
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric materials; Dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and ferroelectrics and their properties; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Materials; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Piezoelectricity and electromechanical effects; Scanning probe microscopes, components and techniques; Excellent Piezoelectric Property; Piezoelectric Property; Piezoelectric Ceramic; Y2O3; Planar Coupling; Dissipation factor; Scanning electron microscopy; Perovskite type compound; Tantalum nitride; Piezoelectric properties; XY model; X ray diffraction; Piezoelectric ceramics; Optimization; Curie temperature; Sintering; Solid state reaction; Piezoelectricity; Piezoelectric constant; Yttrium oxide; Lead free material; Microstructure; Electromechanical system; Low temperature; Planar technology
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-012-0785-7

Lead-free (Ba 0.85 Ca 0.15 )(Ti 0.9 Zr 0.1 )O 3 - x wt.%Y 2 O 3 (BCZT- x Y) piezoelectric ceramics have been synthesized using solid-state reaction technique and the effects of Y 2 O 3 addition on the phase structure and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics have been studied. The results reveal that the addition of Y 2 O 3 significantly improves the sinterability of BCZT ceramics, resulting in a reduction of sintering temperature from 1,540 to 1,350 °C, and an increase of the Curie temperature T C from 85 to 95 °C. X-ray diffraction data shows that Y 2 O 3 diffuses into the lattice of BCZT- x Y ceramics and a pure perovskite phase forms in the ceramics. Scanning electron microscopy images indicate that a small amount of Y 2 O 3 addition affects the microstructure, obviously. Main piezoelectric parameters of these ceramics are optimized around x  = 0.06 wt % with a large piezoelectric coefficient ( d 33  = 560 pC/N), a high planar electromechanical coefficient ( k p  = 53 %) and a low dissipation factor (tan  δ  = 0.9 %) at 1 kHz. The results indicate that the BCZT- x Y ceramics are promising lead-free materials for practical applications.