Enhancing Electromechanical Properties of PZT-Based Piezoelectric Ceramics by High-Temperature Poling for High-Power Applications

Defect engineering is a proven method to tune the properties of perovskite oxides. In demanding high-power piezoelectric ceramic applications, acceptor doping is the most effective method to harden ceramics, but it inevitably degrades the ceramics’ electromechanical properties. Herein, a poling method based on acceptor doping, namely, high-temperature poling, is implemented by applying an electric field above the Curie temperature for poling to achieve a balance of the properties of piezoelectric coefficient d33 and mechanical quality factor Qm. After high-temperature poling, the piezoelectric property of 0.6 mol % Mn-doped Pb0.92Sr0.08(Zr0.533Ti0.443Nb0.024)O3 is d33 = 483 pC/N and Qm = 448. Compared with the traditional poling, the piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the high-temperature poling ceramics increased by approximately 40%, and Qm also increased by nearly 18%. Therefore, high d33 and Qm were exhibited by our PZT piezoelectric ceramics. Rayleigh’s law analysis, XRD, and transmission electron microscopy analysis show that, after high-temperature poling, the considerably increased d33 is related to the large increase in the reversible domain wall motion in the intrinsic effect, while the slightly increased Qm is related to the inhibited irreversible domain wall motion in the extrinsic effect. This study reports a method for high-temperature poling and provides insights into the design of high-power piezoelectric ceramics with high d33 and Qm.