Doping effects of Nb additives on the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of PZT ceramics and its application on SAW device

The PZT-based ceramics with a composition of Pb(1-0.5x)(Zr(0.52)Ti(0.48))(1-x)Nb(x)O(3); X = 0.02-0.06 were prepared by conventional mixed-oxide method, with sintering temperature at 1250degreesC for 2h. Microstructural and compositional analyses of the PZT-based ceramics have been carried out using XRD and SEM. The dielectric constant measured at 1 kHz is about 1500 and the loss factor is small than 2%. The maximum planar electromechanical coupling coefficient, k(p), is 0.591. It showed that the Nb additives were helpful improve both of the dielectric and piezoelectric properties. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters were fabricated and the property, phase velocity, were measured. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.