PLZT x/65/35 ceramics (x = 2 and 4) under electromechanical and temperature loading

Abstract

The effect of uniaxial pressure (0–1000 bars) applied parallel to the ac electric field on dielectric properties of La-modified lead–zirconate–titanate, Pb(Ti,Zr)O3 (PZT), ceramics with Zr/Ti ratio of 65/35 was investigated. The experimental results revealed that applying uniaxial pressure leads to a reduction of the peak intensity of the electric permittivity (ε), of the frequency dispersion as well as of the dielectric hysteresis. Moreover, with increasing pressure, the peak intensity of ε becomes diffuse and shifts to a higher temperature. It was concluded that applying uniaxial pressure induces similar effects as increasing the Ti–ion concentration in PZT system. The obtained results were interpreted through Cochran soft-mode and domain switching processes under action of combined electromechanical loading. These studies clearly showed that the applied stress has significant influence on the dielectric properties of perovskite ceramics.