Grain Size Effect on the Induced Piezoelectric Properties of 0.9PMN-0.1PT Ceramic

Lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 - PbTiO3 (PT) solid solutions have been widely researched to produce devices that can be used in low- and high-electric-field applications. For some applications, such as medical ultrasonic transducers, it is necessary to prepare the ceramic with high density and small average grain size. The effect of grain size on the low- and high-field properties of 0.9-PMN-0.10-PT ceramics is described in the present work. To prepare highly dense ceramic, vibratory and attrition milled powders were sintered between 1000 and 1250 ⁰C. The average grain sizes of the sintered ceramics varied from 0.7 to 3.5 micrometers. To understand the grain size effect, dielectric, pyroelectric, electrostrictive, and induced piezoelectric properties were studied