Low‐Temperature Sintering of Lead‐Based Piezoelectric Ceramics

The low‐temperature sintering of lead‐based piezoelectric ceramics has been studied. The sintering temperature of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics could be reduced from ∼ 1250° to ∼960°C by the addition of a small amount of the lower‐melting frit, B 2 O 3 –Bi 2 O 3 —CdO. It exhibited the following dielectric and piezoelectric properties: K p = 0.52 to 0.58, Q m = 1000, ε T 33 /ε 0 = 800 to 1000, tan δ= 50 × 10 −4 , ρ= 7.56 to 7.64 g/cm 3 . Ceramics with the aid of suitable dopants (CdO, SiO 2 , and excess PbO) in the Pb‐(Ni 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 —PZT family could be sintered at 860° to 900°C. For these materials, K p = 0.56 to 0.61, Q m = 1000, ε T 33 /ε 0 = 1500 to 2000, tan δ≤ 50 × 10 −4 , ρ= 7.80 to 8.03 g/cm 3 . The microstructure, sintering mechanism, and the effects of various impure additions have been analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy.