Enhanced temperature stability in Tb-doped (Ba0.99Ca0.01)(Ti0.98Zr0.02)O3 lead free ceramics

Lead-free (Ba0.99Ca0.01)(Ti0.98Zr0.02)O3 (BCZT)+x mol% Tb (x=0–0.6) ceramics were prepared using a solid-state reaction technique. Phase structure, dielectric constant, ferroelectricity and temperature-dependent piezoelectric coefficient were explored. With an increasing Tb content, the orthorhombic–tetragonal phase transition temperature (TO–T) shifted to lower temperature while its Curie temperature (Tc) remained at 130 °C. The temperature stability of piezoelectric coefficient (d33) could be enhanced from 30 to 120 °C in Tb-doped BCZT ceramics. A piezoelectric coefficient of d33=542 pm/V was obtained at x=0.2 with low temperature-dependent degradation from 30 to 120 °C. The results indicated that Tb-doped BCZT ceramics could be a promising candidate for commercial purposes.