Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃-based ceramics are the mainstream materials for commercial multilayer piezoelectric ceramic actuators, but to date, it has not been well solved for achieving large strains at low electric fields. Herein, a 0.95Pb(Zr_0.56Ti_0.44)O₃-0.05(Bi_0.5Na_0.5)TiO₃-xBaZrO₃ (PZT-BNT-xBZ) ceramic with efficient ferroelectric domain wall motion was designed and realized by reducing lattice distortion and changing domain structure. It is found that the introduction of BZ weakens the tetragonal phase distortion of PZT, contributing to the reduction in the mechanical stress that impedes the migration of domain walls. Moreover, the domain structures could be modified by adjusting BZ content, where short and broad striped domains are constructed with high amplitude characteristics to enhance the domain wall motion. A large strain of 0.39% is accordingly achieved at an electric field as low as 40 kV/cm for the sample with x = 0.03, accompanied by an excellent temperature stability over the temperature range of 30 ^oC to 210 ^oC. This study delves into the synergistic effects of reducing lattice distortion and changing domain structure on the domain wall motion, and provides an effective strategy to improve the strain of PZT-based piezoelectric ceramic.

In this study, tri-rutile type Mg_0.5Ti_0.5TaO₄ ceramics were synthesized, where the structure–property relationship, especially the structural configuration and intrinsic dielectric origin of Mg_0.5Ti_0.5TaO₄ ceramics, and the low-firing characteristics were studied. It is found that the tri-rutile structural type is unambiguously identified through the Rietveld refinement analysis, the selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) along the [110] zone axis. With the increase in sintering temperature, the densification and uniformity of crystal growth play important roles in regulating the microwave dielectric properties of Mg_0.5Ti_0.5TaO₄ ceramics. Intrinsically, theoretical dielectric properties calculated by the far-infrared reflective spectra approached the experimental values, indicating the importance of structural features to dielectric properties. Furthermore, a glass additive with high matching relevance with ceramics has been developed to decrease the high sintering temperature of Mg_0.5Ti_0.5TaO₄ ceramics, where 2–4 wt% Li₂O–MgO–ZnO–B₂O₃–SiO₂ (LMZBS) glass frit was adopted to reduce the suitable temperature from 1275 to 1050 ℃ without significantly deteriorating the microwave dielectric characteristics. Specifically, Mg_0.5Ti_0.5TaO₄ ceramics containing 2 wt% glass addition sintered at 1050 ℃ for 4 h possess excellent microwave dielectric properties: dielectric constant (ε_r) = 44.3, quality factor multiplied by resonant frequency (Q×f) = 23,820 GHz (f = 6.2 GHz), and the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) = 123.2 ppm/℃.