To improve the sinterability and piezoelectric properties of Pb0.98Sr0.02(Mg1/3Nb2/3)(0.275)(Ni1/3Nb2/3) 0.10(Zr0.25Ti0.375)O-3 (PSZT) based ceramics, Ba(W0.5Cu0.5)O-3 (BWC) doped solid phase synthesis was applied in this paper. The piezoelectric speakers with the BWC doped PSZT composition were fabricated and characterized. The low-temperature fabrication process, the microstructure, the phase structure and the electrical properties of the thus prepared ceramics were investigated. The results show that an addition of BWC considerably improves the sinterability of PSZT based ceramics, and, the sintering temperature consequently decreases from 1150 to 950 degrees C. This may be attributed to the promotion in the easiness of liquid-phase sintering. The 0.10 wt. % BWC doped ceramics sintered at 950 degrees C obtains the optimal piezoelectric properties with d33 of 564 pC/N, Kp of 0.66, Q(m) of 46, tan delta of 0.0123, epsilon(P) of 3109, respectively. Then, the piezoelectric speakers sintered at 950 degrees C show the favorable characteristics with a higher SPL of 80.33 dB and a lower THD of 32.42%. Those results show that the BWC doped PSZT ceramics is a promising material for practical application.

Keywords: Sintering; Dielectric properties; Piezoelectric properties; Ferroelectric properties; Speaker