THE PIEZOELECTRIC

EFFECT
FOCUS ON PZT
Author: Nicola Ergo
 SUMMARY

HISTORY  
INTRODUCTION
PZT
POLARIZATION OF A CERAMIC
PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT
HYSTERESIS CURVE FOR POLARIZATION
BUTTERFLY LOOP
BASIC BEHAVIOUR OF A PIEZOELECTRIC
CERAMIC BODY
DEPOLARIZATION
PIEZOELECTRIC CONSTANTS
 PERMITTIVITY Ɛ
 SUMMARY


CHARGE CONSTANT d

VOLTAGE CONSTANT g

COUPLING FACTOR k

COMPARING PIEZOELECTRIC
MATERIALS
MANUFACTURING OF PZT
POPULARITY OF PZT AND
APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS OF
PIEZOELECTRIC
MATERIALS
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
 HISTORY

The piezoelectric effect was discovered by

Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880. They found that
if certain crystals were subjected to mechanical
strain, they became electrically polarized and the
degree of polarization was proportional to the
applied strain.
The Curies also discovered that these same
materials deformed when they were exposed to an
electric field. This has become known as the inverse
piezoelectric effect.
 INTRODUCTION

Piezoelectric materials in nature

Naturally-occurring crystals
(quartz, tourmaline and sodium potassium tartrate)
Member of ferroelectrics
Ionic or partly ionic bonds
No polarities of charges in the neutral conditions
Usually perovskite structure (1)
Asymmetry of the structure (2) when mechanical or
electrical stimuli are applied
the molecular structure is oriented such that
the material exhibits a local charge
separation, known as electric dipole
a tetragonal/rhombahedral structure very
close to cubic
(1)

Piezoelectricity behaviour
Mechanical stimulus induces current (direct effect)
Electrical stimulus induces deformation (inverse effect)
(2)
 INTRODUCTION

No piezoelectric effect Piezoelectric effect

 Cubic, with a center of symmetry  Lack of a center of symmetry

 Covalent bonds  Ionic or partly ionic bonds
 The electric dipoles always add up to  Strain shifts the relative positions of the
zero positive and negative charges, giving
rise to a net electric dipole
 INTRODUCTION

NATURAL SYNTHETIC
Quartz Load zirconate titanate (PZT)
Rochelle Salt Zinc oxide (ZnO)
Topaz Barium titanate (BaTiO3)
Tendon Gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4)
Sucrose Potassium niobate(KNbO3)
Silk Lead titanate (PbTiO3)
Enamel Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3)
Dentin Langasite (La3Ga5SiO14)
DNA Polyparaxylene
Tourmaline Polyvinylidene (PVDF)

Man made piezoelectric ceramics

Man made piezoelectric polymers
 INTRODUCTION

A stress (tensile or compressive) applied to such a

crystal will alter the separation between the positive
and negative charge sites in each elementary cell
leading to a net polarization at the crystal surface.

The effect is:

that is the polarization varies directly with
Practically linear
the applied stress

so that compressive and tensile stresses will

Direction-dependent
generate electric fields and hence voltages
of opposite polarity

Reciprocal so that if the crystal is exposed to an electric

field, it will experience an elastic strain
causing its length to increase or decrease
according to the field polarity
 PZT

An important group of piezoelectric materials are the piezoelectric ceramics, of which PZT is an
example. These are polycrystalline ferroelectric materials with the perovskite crystal structure.

PZT have the general formula:

A2+B1+02-3,

A denotes a large divalent metal

ion such as barium or lead
B denotes a tetravalent metal ion
such as titanium or zirconium
 PZT

Curie point can be thought of as the “melting” temperature of the piezoelectric

properties, because the material cannot sustain polarization at a
temperature above the Curie point.

Above the Curie point Below the Curie point

Simple cubic symmetry
Positive and negative charge sites coinciding, so
there are no dipoles present in the material
Tetragonal symmetry
Positive and negative charge sites no longer
coincide, so each elementary cell then has a built-
in electric dipole which may be reversed, and also
switched to certain allowed directions by the
application of an electric
field
POLARIZATION OF A CERAMIC

Before the polarization electric dipoles in the artificial piezoelectric materials

composition are randomly oriented, so the material does not exhibit the
piezoelectric effect

When a strong electrical field is applied (i.e. poling treatment), the electric dipoles
reorient themselves and the material will also lengthen in the direction of the field

Once the electric field is extinguished, the dipoles maintain their orientation and the
material then exhibit the piezoelectric effect so that an electrical
voltage can be recovered along any surface of the material when the material is
subjected to a mechanical stress. However, the alignment of the dipole moments may
not be perfectly straight because each domain may have several allowed directions.
 PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT

The electric field E and the polarization P are connected in a dielectric medium by the relation:

D = ε() E + P,

 ε() Permittivity of free space

D Electric displacement
E Electric field
P Polarization

For a ferroelectric material like PZT, however, P is itself a function of E.

 HYSTERESIS CURVE FOR POLARIZATION

If an initially unpolarized sample of PZT is

Pr≡Dr Ps
0,3
subjected to an increasing electric field at a
temperature slightly below its Curie point, the dipoles
0,2
become increasing aligned with the field
and the polarization will follow the “initial curve”.
Polarization P [C/m2]

0,1 When the field has increased beyond a certain

value, no further increase in polarization will be
0 observed because the dipoles are then all aligned with
the field. The material is then said to have reached its
-0,1 saturation polarization Ps.
If the field is now reduced to zero, the dipoles
-0,2 become less strongly aligned, however, they don’t return
to their original alignment since there are several
-0,3 preferred directions within the crystallites and they
-Ps -Pr≡-Dr
remain in the ones most closely aligned
-1,5 -1 -0,5 0 0,5 1 1,5 with the original field. Since there is still, therefore,
Electric field E [kV/mm]
a very high degree of alignment, the polarization does
Dielectric hysteresis of a “soft” PZT. not fall back to zero but to a value somewhat lower than
The electric displacement D(E) is obtained by addition
of ε() E to the polarization P(E) in accordance with Eq.
the saturation polarization known as the remanent
D = ε E + P. polarization Pr.
()
 BUTTERFLY LOOP

S3
-S1
Mechanical deformation S3 in the direction
of polarization and field, as well as S1 and
15 ·10-4 30 ·10-4 S2 normal to this direction as a
P≡ Pr function of field strength for a “soft” PZT.
10 20 The S1 curve is based on measurement,
S3 is given by S3 -2S1 : -2S2.
5 10

-1,5 -1 -0,5 0 0,5 1 1,5

Electric field E [kV/mm]

It can be seen that this also exhibits a hysteresis effect corresponding precisely with the effect observed for
polarization.

Since the volume of the sample remains roughly constant, a relative increase (or decrease) in S3 will be
accompanied by a relative decrease (or increase) in the sample's dimension perpendicular to the
field (S1 and S2) equal to about half the change in S3.
 BASIC BEHAVIOUR OF A PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMIC BODY

Generator action conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy

The cylinder under no-load conditions.

If an external force produces compressive or tensile strain in the material,
the resulting change in dipole moment causes a voltage to appear between
the electrodes.

If the cylinder is compressed so that it resumes its original form, i.e. before
poling, the voltage will have the same polarity as the poling voltage.

If it is stretched, the voltage across the electrodes will have opposite polarity
to the poling voltage.
 BASIC BEHAVIOUR OF A PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMIC BODY

Motor action conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy

If a voltage of opposite polarity to the poling voltage in applied to the

electrodes, the cylinder will shorten.

If the applied voltage has the same polarity as the poling voltage, the
cylinder will lengthen.

If an alternating voltage is applied to the electrodes, the cylinder will grow

and shrink at the same frequency as that of the applied voltage.
 DEPOLARIZATION

After its poling treatment a PZT ceramic will be permanently polarized, and care must therefore be
taken in all subsequent handling to ensure that the ceramic is not depolarized, since this will result in
partial or even total loss of its piezoelectric properties.
The ceramic may be depolarized:

Electrically Exposure to a strong electric field of opposite polarity to the

poling field will depolarize a piezoelectric element

Mechanically Mechanical depolarization occurs when the mechanical stress

on a piezoelectric element becomes high enough to disturb the
orientation of the domains and hence destroy the
alignment of the dipoles

Thermally If a piezoelectric element is heated to its Curie point, the

domains become disordered and the element becomes
completely depolarized
 PIEZOELECTRIC
CONSTANTS
Since piezoelectric ceramics are anisotropic, their physical constants (elasticity, permittivity etc.) are
tensor quantities and relate to both the direction of the applied stress, electric field etc., and to the
directions perpendicular to these.
For this reason the constants are generally given two subscript indices which refer to the direction of
the two related quantities (e.g. stress and strain for elasticity, displacement and electric field for
permittivity). Furthermore a superscript index is used to indicate a quantity that's kept constant.

Rectangular coordinate system:

the direction of positive polarization is usually

chosen to coincide with the Z-axis

the directions of X, Y and Z are represented by 1, 2 and 3

respectively

the shear about these axes by 4, 5 and 6

respectively
 PIEZOELECTRIC CONSTANTS – PERMITTIVITY
Ɛ

The permittivity, or dielectric constant, ε, for a piezoelectric ceramic material is the dielectric displacement
per unit electric field.

 εT permittivity at constant stress

 εS permittivity at constant strain

• The first subscript to ε indicates the direction of the dielectric displacement

• The second is the direction of the electric field

e.g.

permittivity for dielectric displacement and electric field in direction 1

ƐT11 (perpendicular to direction in which ceramic element is polarized), under
conditions of constant stress
 PIEZOELECTRIC CONSTANTS – CHARGE CONSTANT d

The piezoelectric charge constant, d, is the polarization generated per unit of mechanical stress (T)
applied to a piezoelectric material or, alternatively, is the mechanical strain (S) experienced by a
piezoelectric material per unit of electric field applied.

• The first subscript to d indicates the direction of polarization generated in the material when the
electric field, E, is zero or, alternatively, is the direction of the applied field strength.
• The second subscript is the direction of the applied stress or the induced strain, respectively.
Because the strain induced in a piezoelectric material by an applied electric field is the product of the
value for the electric field and the value for d, d is an important indicator of a material's suitability for
strain-dependent (actuator) applications.

e.g.
induced polarization in direction 3 (parallel to direction in which ceramic
d33 element is polarized) per unit stress applied in direction 3 or
induced strain in direction 3 per unit electric field applied in

direction 3
 PIEZOELECTRIC CONSTANTS – VOLTAGE CONSTANT g

The piezoelectric voltage constant, g, is the electric field generated by a piezoelectric material per unit of
mechanical stress applied or, alternatively, is the mechanical strain experienced by a piezoelectric
material per unit of electric displacement applied.

• The first subscript to g indicates the direction of the electric field generated in the material, or the
direction of the applied electric displacement.
• The second subscript is the direction of the applied stress or the induced strain,
respectively.

e.g.
induced electric field in direction 3 (parallel to direction in which ceramic
g31 element is polarized) per unit stress applied in direction 1 or
induced strain in direction 1 per unit electric displacement applied

in direction 3
 PIEZOELECTRIC CONSTANTS – COUPLING FACTOR k

The electromechanical coupling factor, k, is an indicator of the effectiveness with which a

piezoelectric material converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, or converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy.

• The first subscript to k denotes the direction along which the electrodes are applied.
• The second denotes the direction along which the mechanical energy is applied, or
developed.

𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 k does not account for dielectric

k2 eff
= losses or mechanical losses, nor for theoretical efficiency
𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
recovery of unconverted energy
e.g.

factor for electric field in direction 3 (parallel to direction in which ceramic

k33 element is polarized) and longitudinal vibrations in direction 3
 COMPARING PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS
Man made piezoelectric ceramics Man
SOME PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS
made piezoelectric polymers
Symbol Unit BaTiO3 PZT PVDF

Density 103 kg/m3 5,7 7,5 1,78

Relative permittivity Ɛ/Ɛ0 1700 1200 12

10-12 C/N
Piezoelectric constant d31 78 110 23

10-3 Vm/N
Voltage constant g31 5 10 216

Electromechanical constant k31 % at 1 kHz 21 30 12

The piezoelectric constant is lower for polymers as compared to ceramic based piezoelectric
materials.
• When the same amount of voltage applied to polymer and ceramic piezoelectric materials, the shape
change of ceramic based materials are larger than polymers.
• The piezoelectric voltage coefficient of PVDF is about 21 times higher than that of PZT and 40 times
higher than that of BaTiO3, therefore PVDF is better for sensor applications.
• The electromechanical coupling constants k31 of PZT is approximately 2.5 times larger than
the electromechanical constant of PVDF which means it is able to convert 2.5 times more
mechanical stress into electrical energy than that PVDF.
 MANUFACTURING OF PZT

Batch Weighing
High-purity raw materials are evaluated, selected and sourced throughout the world. Selection
criteria, in addition to purity, include material activity and limits on specific deleterious impurities.
Once each material is selected and approved for use, it is precisely weighed, according to the
formulation being manufactured.
Wet Milling
These ingredients are wet-milled together in their proper proportions to achieve a uniform particle size
distribution. Precise control over particle size distribution is necessary to ensure appropriate material
activity during the calcination.
Drying
Following the wet milling process, the product is dried and prepared for calcining.
Calcining
The product must be calcined in high-purity crucibles to guarantee no chemical contaminants are present
in the final product. The calcining operation is carried out in air at about 1000°C, where the desired PZT
phase is formed.
 MANUFACTURING OF PZT

Wet Milling and Binder Addiction

PZT powder is returned to the mill to ensure homogeneity and to prepare the material for the
addition of an organic binding agent.

Spray Drying
The binder-containing slurry is then fed to a spray dryer, where water is evaporated.
The purpose of spray drying the PZT powder material is to provide a free-flowing product in the form of
binder-containing hollow spheres with a narrow particle size distribution. The morphology of the PZT
material is crucial to consistently fill die cavities in the dry pressing process when manufacturing
piezoelectric ceramics.

Pressing to form “green” piezoelectric ceramic elements

The uniform PZT spheres of appropriate particle size distribution allow for air escapement throughout
the compaction process, yielding lamination-free green ceramic shapes.
 POPULARITY OF PZT AND APPLICATIONS

PZT, lead zirconate titanate, is the most commonly used piezo ceramic today. In general, piezo ceramics
are the preferred choice because they are:
physically strong high dielectric constant
chemically inert high coupling factor
relatively inexpensive to manufacture high charge sensitivity
greater sensitivity high density with a fine grain structure
high operating temperature (high Curie point) a clean, noise-free frequency response

 flow or level sensors

 ultrasonic nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE)
applications
 accurate inspections of automotive, structural or aerospace
products
 ultrasonic cleaners
 sonar devices
 APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

Piezoelectric Generators
Piezoelectric ceramics can generate voltages sufficient to spark
across an electrode gap, and thus can be used as ignitors in
fuel lighters, gas stoves, welding equipment, and other such
apparatus. Piezoelectric ignition systems are small and simple.

Piezoelectric Sensors
A piezoelectric sensor converts a physical parameter, such
as acceleration or pressure, into an electrical signal. In
some sensors the physical parameter acts directly on the
piezoelectric element; in other devices an acoustical signal
establishes vibrations in the element and the vibrations are,
in turn, converted into an electrical signal. Often, the system
provides a visual, audible, or physical response to the
input from the piezoelectric sensor (e.g. automobile
seatbelts lock in response to a rapid deceleration,
piezoelectric pickups for electrically amplified guitars).
 APPLICATIONS

Piezo Actuators
A piezo actuator converts an electrical signal into a
precisely controlled physical displacement, to finely adjust
precision machining tools, lenses, or mirrors. Actuators also
are used to control hydraulic valves, act as small-volume pumps
or special-purpose motors, and in other applications.
Piezoelectric Transducer
Piezoelectric transducers convert electrical energy into
vibrational mechanical energy (often sound or ultrasound)
and vice versa. Because the piezoelectric effect is reversible,
a transducer can both generate an ultrasound signal from
electrical energy and convert incoming sound into an
electrical signal.
Piezoelectric transducers are used to generate ultrasonic
vibrations for cleaning, atomizing liquids, drilling or milling
ceramics or other difficult materials, welding plastics,
medical diagnostics, integrated into park distance control
and other use.
 APPLICATIONS

Power generating sidewalk

• Charging pads under the cross walk
collect energy from the vibrations.
• Piezoelectric charging panels channel
energy to lithium ion batteries (which can
be used further).

Floor mats and people powered dance clubs

• Series of crystals can be laid below the floor
mats, tiles and carpets.
• One footstep can only provide enough electrical
current to light two 60watt bulbs for one second.
• When mob uses the dance floor, an enormous
voltage is generated.
• This energy is used to power the equipment of
nightclubs.
 REFERENCES

• Alternative Resources for Renewable Energy: Piezoelectric and Photovoltaic Smart Structures - D.
Vatansever, E. Siores and T. Shah
• Materials Science and Engineering An Introduction - William D. Callister, Jr.
• Piezoelectricity: Basics and applications - Petar Jurcevic

• http://didel.script.univ-paris-
diderot.fr/claroline/backends/download.php?url=L0FyY2hpdi90dXRvcmlhbF9waWV6b18yLnBkZg%3D
%3D&cidReset=true&cidReq=36UAHB543
• https://www.americanpiezo.com/
• http://www.piceramic.com/piezo-technology/fundamentals.html
• http://knowledge.ulprospector.com/2689/pe-piezoelectric-materials/
• http://piezotechnologies.com/knowledge-desk
 QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What does it mean piezoelectric effect?

2. Which are the conditions for a material to exhibit the piezoelectric effect?
3. Why is necessary to polarize a material to make it piezoelectric?
4. How is it possible to depolarize a piezoelectric material?
5. Why piezo ceramics are usually most used?
6. Please write some common applications of piezoelectric materials.
THANKS FOR THE ATTENTION