FIELD-INDUCED ANTIFERROELECTRIC-TO-FERROELECTRIC PHASE-TRANSITION OF LEAD NIOBIUM ZIRCONATE-TITANATE STANNATE CERAMICS

The elastic strain behavior associated with the field-induced antiferr oelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition has been investigated for Pb0.99Nb0.02 [(Zr1-xSnx)(1-y)Ti-y](0.98)O-3 ceramics (PNZST) by means of dielectric, polarization and strain hysteresis measurements. As the applied electric field intensity increased, a sudden increase in the strain was observed along with a corresponding change in polarization that is attributable to the phase transition. PNZST ceramics with opti mized composition exhibit a huge strain value of 0.44%, which may make the development of a new functional transducer device possible.