Sybrand van der Zwaag

In the present work, we study the effect of quenching and annealing on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties at room temperature and elevated temperatures of a new ternary BiFeO3-PbTiO3-Li0.5Bi0.5TiO3 bulk piezo ceramic. While sacrificing part of the maximally obtainable piezoelectric constant value, using an optimal heat treatment, a quasi-stable value for the piezoelectric constant of 65 pC/N was obtained irrespective of the annealing temperature. All experimental results point to the direction of unusual defect behavior in this novel ternary system leading to a well-defined metastable state. The quenching and annealing process are completely reversible and can be used in combination with additional chemical modifications to tailor the properties of this new high-temperature piezoelectric ceramic to the intended use conditions.