Electrical biasing of PZT ceramic material

Recently, much interest has been shown in the electrostrictive materials Lead Magnesium Niobate (PMN) and Single Crystal (PZN) for high drive level operation of ferroelectric and electrostrictive transducers. To operate at high drive levels, these materials require a DC electrical bias. In light of the need to bias the newer materials, it seemed reasonable to consider the possibility of biasing traditional PZT ceramics in order to achieve higher drive levels. To investigate this potential performance enhancement approach, three tonpilz transducers were built using PZT-4, PZT-5H, and PZT-8 as the active piezoceramic motor. These transducers were driven to 11.3 kv/cm (28.8 v /mil), 6.93 kv/cm (17.6 v/mil), and 13.8 kv/cm (35.0 v/mil) rms, respectively.