Fabrication and properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3-based ceramics for photostrictors

Samples of Pb(Zr-x,Ti1-x)O-3-based ceramics (x=0.48-0.6) doped with 1 mol% of Ta5+ were prepared by a conventional oxide-mixing method to investigate photovoltaic responses such as photovoltaic current and photovoltage as wel l as ferro- and piezoelectric properties such as polarization and strain co nstant. Results confirmed that the maximum photovoltaic power was obtained from the sample with x=0.54, whereas the strain constant became maximum in the sample with x=0.52. The remanent polarization peaked in the sample with x=0.54. Thus, it was determined that photovoltaic properties exhibit a str onger correlation with the remanent polarization than the piezoelectric pro perties, and it is expected that highly efficient photostrictors can be fab ricated by hybridizing the materials of the two different compositions.