Synthesis and characterization of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 fibers with Pt core

This paper reports the synthesis and electromechanical characterization of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 (PMN–35PT) ceramics and fibers. To prevent the lead loss during the sintering of the fibers, lead-atmosphere was used during the sintering process. As a consequence, it was possible to ensure a good densification of the fiber and a pure perovskite phase. The electromechanical coupling factor and piezoelectric coefficient of the piezoelectric fiber were found to be k31 = 0.20 and d31 = −130 pC/N, respectively. These results are lower than ceramic sample properties (k31 = 0.32 and d31 = −234 pC/N). In order to determine reasons for these lower results in fiber shape sample, density and poling studies were performed. It is shown that fiber shape samples cannot be poled correctly because of the ratio between core and ceramic diameters.