Effect of Yb Addition on the Sintering Behavior and High Power Piezoelectric Properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3–Pb(Mn,Nb)O3

0.9Pb(Zr 0.61 Ti 0.39 )–0.1Pb(Mn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 piezoelectric ceramics doped with Yb 2 O 3 were prepared by conventional ceramic processing, and the effects of the Yb doping on the sintering behavior and high power piezoelectric properties were investigated. X-ray diffractomer (XRD) measurements indicated that the piezoelectric ceramics with Yb 2 O 3 in this study were a single phase of polycrystalline perovskite. The sintering density was strongly affected by small amount of Yb 2 O 3 addition. Vibration velocity, which is one of the most important factors for high power piezoelectric applications, as high as 1.0 m/s (rms value), was obtained from the 0.2 mol% Yb 2 O 3 doped sample. This value is about 2.5 times higher than that for commercialized hard Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 ceramics.