Nonlinearity and scaling behavior in a soft lead zirconate titanate piezoceramic

Lead oxide-based ferroelectrics, represented by lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr,Ti)O(3)] or PZT), are the most widely used materials for piezoelectric actuators, sensors, and transducers due to their excellent piezoelectric properties. Most of these piezoelectric materials are employed under a variety of strains (stress, electrical field, and temperature). It would thus be interesting to predict their behaviors under different excitations without having to perform too much experimental work, i.e., just carry out a single experiment and still be able to provide the other experimental values. The purpose of this paper has thus been to propose several behavioral laws linking the electrical field, temperature and mechanical stress. The first law rendered it possible to express the mechanical stress by an equivalent electric field [Delta E alpha Delta TXP(E, T(0))]. Subsequently, a law linking the electrical field and temperature {Delta E [2 beta XP(E,T(0))]Delta theta} was proposed. From these two laws, a third law was identified reflecting the mechanical stress as an equivalent temperature; each expressed by a temperature equivalent stress (T delta X Delta theta). After experimental validation of these laws, the mapping could be extended in order to predict the polarization behavior in the tensile stress zone as well as that as a function of the negative temperature. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3486510]