Piezoelectric properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-Pb(Ni,Nb)O3 ceramics and their application in energy harvesters

The piezoelectric properties of (1-x-y)PbZrO3-xPbTiO3-yPb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics were investigated. Specimens with a large Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 content, which have compositions close to the triple point, show small g33 and d33 × g33 values because of their large εT33/ε0. These values increased with a decrease in y (amount of Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3) and the specimen with x = 0.39 and y = 0.29 showed the largest g33 of 43 × 10−3 V·m/N and d33 × g33 of 25.2 × 10−12 m2/N. Cantilever-type energy harvesters were fabricated using specimens with 0.38 ≤ x ≤ 0.41 and y = 0.29. The output power densities of the energy harvesters were related to the d31 × g31 × k312 value of the piezoelectric ceramics. The energy harvester fabricated using a specimen with x = 0.39 and y = 0.29, which has a maximum d31 × g31 × k312 value, showed the maximum output power density of 1.01 mW/cm3.