Uniaxial stress dependence of the piezoelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate ceramics

Piezoelectric ceramics are often used under compressive stress. We have measured the dynamic value of the piezoelectric charge coefficient, d/sub 33/, as a function of uniaxial stress in the poled direction. Results on two types of PZT ceramics manufactured by EDO Corporation are presented; in general, they show a nonlinear behaviour with an initial increase in d/sub 33/ as the stress increases followed by a significant decrease. The time dependence of the measurement has also been investigated and these studies indicate that the stress induced extrinsic contributions take a finite time to appear and that, over longer time periods, the stress causes ageing.