Electrical output performance of PZT-based piezoelectric ceramics

The electrical output characteristics of Mn-doped PZT ceramics responding to slow mechanical stress as well as to impact stress have been investigated. Although both the slow and impact stress induce reversible electrical response, their output properties are distinctly different. Slow stress releases two output current flows with opposite directions, responding to the increasing and decreasing parts of the stress respectively. However, impact stress produces almost one direction signal. The output charge and energy produced by slow stress are found to be thousands of times higher than that produced by impact stress. This work shows that the energy conversion efficiency of piezoelectric ceramics strongly depends on the way the stress is applied