Abstract
Sinterability, microstructure and piezoelectric properties were examined in the piezoelectric ceramics of the (1- x)Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3- xPb(Sb1/2Nb1/2)O3 ternary system. Pb(Sb1/2Nb1/2)O3 suppressed the grain growth of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics; the substitution with Pb(Sb1/2Nb1/2)O3 was effective to obtain fine-grained piezoelectric ceramics. Furthermore, the submicron grinding of calcined powder by ball-milling enabled densification even at the firing temperature of 1000° C. The piezoelectric ceramics having submicron-size grains were consequently obtained. The sample had an average grain size of 0.7 µ m and showed planar coupling factors (k p) around 0.65.