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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2023, 12(6): 1228-1237 https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220752
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 05 June 2023

High-performance (K,Na)NbO3-based multilayer piezoelectric ceramic actuators with nickel inner electrodes

Show Author's Information Yu Huana( ),  Limin Houa,  Tao Weia,  Fenghua Jianga( ),  Ting Wangb,  Longtu Lic,  Xiaohui Wangc
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Electronic Functional Materials and Devices, Huizhou University, Huizhou 516007, China
State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Keywords:
lead-free piezoelectric ceramics, two-step sintering process, ceramic layer/electrode interface, multilayer ceramic actuator (MLCA), base nickel (Ni) inner electrode
Cite this article:
Huan Y, Hou L, Wei T, et al. High-performance (K,Na)NbO3-based multilayer piezoelectric ceramic actuators with nickel inner electrodes. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2023, 12(6): 1228-1237. https://doi.org/10.26599/JAC.2023.9220752
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Abstract Full text About this article

Multilayer ceramic actuator (MLCA) has been widely employed in actuators due to the large cumulative displacement under the low driving voltage. In this work, the MLCA devices consisting of a lead-free MnCO3- and CuO-doped 0.96(K0.48Na0.52)(Nb0.96Ta0.04)O3–0.04CaZrO3 piezoelectric ceramics and a base nickel (Ni) metal inner electrode were well co-fired by the two-step sintering process in a reducing atmosphere. The ceramic layer/electrode interface is well-integrated and clearly continuous without distinct interdiffusion and chemical reaction, which is beneficial to the electrical reliability of the MLCA. As a result, the MLCA laminated with nine active ceramic layers obtains an ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 3157 pC/N, about 9 times than bulk ceramics. The 0.5 mm-thick MLCA composed of a series of ~50 μm-thick ceramic layers and ~3 μm-thick Ni electrodes reaches a high 1.8 μm displacement under the low applied voltage of 200 V (the same displacement requires a voltage as high as 3700 V for ~1 mm-thick bulk ceramics). The excellent electrical performance and low-cost base electrode reveal that the (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN)-based MLCAs are promising lead-free candidate for actuator application.


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About this article

High-performance (K,Na)NbO3-based multilayer piezoelectric ceramic actuators with nickel inner electrodes

Show Author's information Yu Huana( ), Limin Houa, Tao Weia, Fenghua Jianga( ), Ting Wangb, Longtu Lic, Xiaohui Wangc
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Electronic Functional Materials and Devices, Huizhou University, Huizhou 516007, China
State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Abstract

Multilayer ceramic actuator (MLCA) has been widely employed in actuators due to the large cumulative displacement under the low driving voltage. In this work, the MLCA devices consisting of a lead-free MnCO3- and CuO-doped 0.96(K0.48Na0.52)(Nb0.96Ta0.04)O3–0.04CaZrO3 piezoelectric ceramics and a base nickel (Ni) metal inner electrode were well co-fired by the two-step sintering process in a reducing atmosphere. The ceramic layer/electrode interface is well-integrated and clearly continuous without distinct interdiffusion and chemical reaction, which is beneficial to the electrical reliability of the MLCA. As a result, the MLCA laminated with nine active ceramic layers obtains an ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 3157 pC/N, about 9 times than bulk ceramics. The 0.5 mm-thick MLCA composed of a series of ~50 μm-thick ceramic layers and ~3 μm-thick Ni electrodes reaches a high 1.8 μm displacement under the low applied voltage of 200 V (the same displacement requires a voltage as high as 3700 V for ~1 mm-thick bulk ceramics). The excellent electrical performance and low-cost base electrode reveal that the (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN)-based MLCAs are promising lead-free candidate for actuator application.

Keywords: lead-free piezoelectric ceramics, two-step sintering process, ceramic layer/electrode interface, multilayer ceramic actuator (MLCA), base nickel (Ni) inner electrode

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 03 March 2023
Revised: 04 April 2023
Accepted: 11 April 2023
Published: 05 June 2023
Issue date: June 2023

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2023.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52072150 and 51972146); Shandong Province Key Fundamental Research Program (Grant No. ZR2022ZD39); State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Tsinghua University (Grant No. KF202002); and Open Foundation of Guangdong Key Laboratory of Electronic Functional Materials and Devices (Grant No. EFMD2021002Z).

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