Structure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of donor doped PZT ceramics across the phase diagram

The effects of Zr/Ti ratio on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the sintered Pb(ZrxTi(1-x))(0.99)Nb0.01O3 piezoelectric ceramics across the entire range of phase diagram of the PZT solid solution was studied systematically. The materials were prepared by the conventional mixed oxide process. The phase purity and crystal structure of the calcined powders and sintered ceramics was analysed using X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of the sintered ceramics has been investigated using scanning electron microscopy. It is seen that even though there is a significant increase in dielectric constant (epsilon(r)) and piezoelectric charge coefficient (d(33)) at the PZT-52 (MPB) composition, the voltage sensitivity (g(33)) of the PZT-0 (lead titanate) ceramics are higher than that of MPB.