Effect of Electric Field Concentration by Electrode Patterning on the Incipient Piezoelectric Strain Properties of Lead-Free Piezoceramics

Abstract

More than two decades of world-wide research efforts have resulted in several classes of potentially important materials. Among them are incipient piezoelectrics, which are especially useful for actuator applications. However, relatively large electric fields are required for activating the large incipient electromechanical strains. So far, many attempts have been made to reduce the required electric field by intentionally inhomogenizing the electric field distribution in the microstructure through core-shell and composite approaches. Here, we show that electric field concentration can be realized simply by adjusting electrode patterns. We have investigated the effect of electrode patterning on the incipient electromechanical strain properties of an exemplarily chosen lead-free relaxor system, revealing that electrode patterning does have a significant role on the strain properties of the given lead-free relaxor system. We believe that this approach would make a new strategy for ones to consider bringing the functional properties of electroceramics beyond their conventional limit.