Electrical Conductivity in Lead Zirconate‐Titanate Ceramics

Electrical conductivity was investigated in polycrystalline lead zirconate‐titanate ceramics, with and without various dopants and stoichiometry, fabricated from chemical solutions and mixed‐oxide powders. A multiphase packing‐powder technique was used to control the stoichiometry of the system during sintering. The dc resistivity was measured by using a guard‐ring method. Electrical conduction follows typical semiconductor behavior. Thermoelectric power measurements showed that hole conduction was dominant. Impurity ions which can serve as acceptors or donors significantly affect the conduction process. For undoped PZT the activation energy was 3.6 eV from 650° to 800°C and 1.4 eV at <650°C.