High electric‐field‐induced strain of SnO₂‐modified PLSBZT ceramic for actuator applications

Abstract

In this study, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of the Pb0.931La0.006Sr0.03Ba0.03(Zr0.535Ti0.465)O3–xwt%SnO2 (PLSBZT–xwt%SnO2) with x = 0–0.6 were investigated comprehensively. When the content of SnO2 was 0.55 wt%, the sample achieved optimum properties obtaining a high Curie temperature (259°C) and a large strain (0.203% at 20 kV/cm). In particular, the sample's maximum strain (Smax) remained stable with a variation of less than 4% between −20 and 120°C. Moreover, the PLSBZT–0.55 wt%SnO2 ceramic not only presented a small εr value of 1662, enabling the actuator to respond quickly, but also had a high value of g33 (35.8 × 10−3 V/m/N). These results implied that SnO2‐modified PLSBZT ceramics have significant potential for actuator applications owing to their high Curie temperature, large electric‐field‐induced strain, fast response, and good strain–temperature stability.