Effects of the additions of various metal oxides on the low-temperature sintering and the electrical properties of Pb(Zr,Ti)O/sub 3/ ceramics

The MnO/sub 2/-added Pb(Zr,Ti)O/sub 3/ ceramics have been sintered at 935/spl deg/C for 90 min with the addition of BiFeO/sub 3/ and Ba(Cu,W)O/sub 3/. The isothermal shrinkage curve reveals that the densification of the ceramics is promoted by formation of liquid phase. Measurements of the electrical properties of the ceramics sintered with various forms of additives suggest that the suppression of excessive segregation of Pb and Cu components at grain boundaries is very important for improving the electrical properties.