Achieving large strain in lead-based piezoelectric ceramics through enhancing intrinsic response

Lead-based piezoelectric ceramics hold a prominent share in commercial piezoelectric actuators, but their low strain has not been well resolved. Herein, a ternary piezoelectric ceramic x (Bi 0.25 Na 0.25 Ce 0.5 )(Zn 0.5 Ti 0.5 )O 3 -PbZrO 3 -PbTiO 3 ( x BNCZT-PZ-PT) was designed through the co-doping method at A and B sites, with the aim of enhancing the intrinsic response to strain characteristic. Results indicate that the incorporation of aliovalent cations facilitate the formation of the tetragonal phase by promoting lattice distortion which leads to the enhancement of tetragonality, thereby strengthening the piezoelectric response. Meanwhile, the defect dipoles are successfully created which establishes an internal bias field along the [001] direction, enhancing the stretching of the lattice under the electric field and contributing to the strain. When x  = 0.04, the intrinsic response reaches a maximum, and a unipolar strain of 0.44 % is achieved at 60 kV/cm. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness to increase the strain in PZ-PT-based piezoelectric ceramics from the perspective of strain sources.