Single-crystal relaxor ferroelectric piezoactuators with interdigitated electrodes

Miguel Levy; Raghav Vanga; Kee S Moon; Heung K Park; Yong K Hong

doi:10.1109/tuffc.2004.1386677

Single-crystal relaxor ferroelectric piezoactuators with interdigitated electrodes

IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2004 Dec;51(12):1593-9. doi: 10.1109/tuffc.2004.1386677.

Authors

Miguel Levy¹, Raghav Vanga, Kee S Moon, Heung K Park, Yong K Hong

Affiliation

¹ Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA. mlevy@mtu.edu

PMID: 15690720
DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2004.1386677

Abstract

We report on the fabrication and performance of (1-x) Pb(Zn(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-xPbTiO3 (PZN-PT) single-crystal relaxor piezoactuators with interdigitated electrodes patterned on a single surface. An electric field gradient across the sample thickness induces a differential contraction between opposite faces, and it is responsible for the actuation. The samples are poled by energizing the electrodes at 100 degrees C and cooling in a field. Calculations of the piezoelectric response based on a periodically modulated dipolar field yield good agreement with experiment. Discrepancies with the model are ascribed to multidomain formation in the ferroelectric sample as a result of field reversals in the applied electric field along the sample length.