Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of microwave sintered PZT

The dielectric and piezoelectric properties of sol-gel derived and microwave sintered PZT are presented. It has been observed that the microwave sintering results in a material with a higher dielectric constant (about 1600) than that sintered by conventional methods (about 1480). It also offers a low dielectric loss tangent and improved d33. Pellets sintered by the microwave method at 1100 C are found to have high hardness (about 1460 MPa) on the Vickers hardness scale with a theoretical density of about 94 percent in comparison with that sintered by the conventional method (i.e. about 980 MPa and about 84 percent). From a hysteresis study, the remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) of the microwave sintered PZT are observed to be 340 mC /sq m and 10 kV/cm, respectively. The value of Ec in the microwave sintered sample is low, and this property is desirable for device fabrication of PZT-based smart structures. (Author)