Characterization of the electro-mechanical behavior of zirconia-rich PZT ceramics

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics near the morphotropic phase boundary have been the backbone materials for piezoelectric applications for more than 50 years. The electro-mechanical responses for these materials have been well studied. In this study, we investigated the electro-mechanical behavior of two zirconia-rich PZT compositions, with and without tin (Sn) modification. These materials, close to the antiferroelectric phase region, have been used for power supply and actuator applications due to their unique ferroelectric(FE)-antiferroelectric(AFE) phase transformation behavior. However, limited information is available characterizing their electromechanical responses, especially outside of room temperature. In this work, we present the electromechanical properties of these compositions as a function of temperature. Special attention has been placed on the electromechanical responses near the FE-FE phase transformation.