Fabrication of Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ ceramics from fine particle powder with excess pbo and their piezoelectric properties

Abstract

Calcined powders of Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ with excess PbO up to 2 mol% as a sintering aid were ball-milled for 120 hours with the partially stabilized zirconia balls 1mm in diameter. The ground powders down to 0.38μm were fired at the temperatures of 880 to 1180°C for 2 hours, and the effects of excess PbO and particle size of powder on both density and grain size were examined as a function of firing temperature. Densification was enhanced at lower temperature by the combination of addition of excess PbO and fine grinding of powders, and the dense PZT ceramics above 7.7g/cm₃ were obtained at the firing temperature of 930°C. Electromechanical coupling factors of poled samples as a function of firing temperature were similarly changed as the density, and those for radial mode and longitudinal mode vibrations of the samples sintered from 0.38μm powder with 2 mol% excess PbO at 930°C were above 0.5 and 0.6, respectively.