Microstructural, Dielectric, and Piezoelectric Properties of SFN-modified PZT Ceramics

This study described the structural, dielectric, and piezoelectric behavior of (1-x)Pb(Zr0.51 Ti0.49)O3-xSm(Fe0.5, Nb0.5)O3 ceramics (PZT-SFN, x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.10), prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction, dielectric, and piezoelectric investigations were carried out to analyze the crystal structure. Preliminary X-ray structural analysis of the materials at room temperature has confirmed their formation in single-phase with tetragonal crystal structure. SFN-doping increased the sintered density and the average grain size of lead zirconate titanate ceramics. The room temperature dielectric permittivity ɛr, tangent loss tan δ, piezoelectric coefficient d31, electromechanical coupling factor kp, and mechanical quality factor Qm of 0.92PZT–0.08SFN ceramics are 940, 1.43%, 119 pC/N, 67.10%, 326, respectively, which mean it has a great promise for actuator applications.