SBIR Phase I: High Performance Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将专注于形成性能改进的无铅压电陶瓷，用于各种高性能传感器和换能器应用。钛酸钡锆（BZT）陶瓷成分的压电响应可以通过改变陶瓷内部晶粒取向程度来增强。在块体BZT陶瓷中注入少量定向均匀的等结构颗粒（模板颗粒）将在热致密化过程中产生织构。有纹理的BZT陶瓷的压电响应将与目前的铅基材料相媲美，这将允许在商业领域更大的效用，因为环境限制。具有商业纹理的压电BZT陶瓷可用于各种机电换能器和传感器应用，包括航空航天，海洋，生物医学和超声波行业。BZT陶瓷有潜力取代目前使用锆钛酸铅（PZT）陶瓷的所有应用，PZT陶瓷由于含铅量而对环境不可接受。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the formation of improved performance, lead-free, piezoelectric ceramics for various high performance sensor and transducer applications. The piezoelectric response of Barium Zirconium Titanate (BZT) ceramic compositions will be enhanced by altering the degree of grain orientation within the ceramic. Seeding with a small percentage of properly oriented anisometric, isostructural particles (template particles) within the bulk BZT ceramic will produce the texture during thermal densification. The piezoelectric response of the textured BZT ceramics would be comparable to current lead-based materials, which would allow for greater utility in the commercial sector due to environmental constraints. Commercially textured, piezoelectric BZT ceramics can be used for various electromechanical transducer and sensor applications, which include the aerospace, marine, biomedical, and ultrasonic industries. The BZT ceramics have the potential of replacing all applications currently using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics, which are environmentally unacceptable because of the lead content.