Influence of Poling Conditions on Material Properties of Lead Zirconate–Lead Titanate Ceramics

Electromechanical properties have been measured by a resonant method for "very soft" (APC856), "soft" (APC850), and "hard" (APC840, APC841, and APC880) lead zirconate–lead titanate (PZT) ceramics as a function of poling temperature and poling electric field. Quantitative results are presented for piezoelectric coefficients d 33 , d 31 , k 31 , k p , and k t ; for elastic stiffness c 33 E , elastic compliance s 11 E , and dielectric permittivity ε 33 T . An elevated temperature has a significant effect on the poling efficiency for hard PZT ceramics – in particular, piezoelectric coefficients could be substantially (by 50% of their saturated value) increased by the appropriate choice of poling temperature. A similar effect is observed for the poling electric field for hard PZTs at lower temperatures, but the electric field intensity is less significant at higher poling temperatures. The longitudinal and transversal components of material tensors change in different extent as a result of poling.