Preparation, microstructure, dielectric and electrical analysis of Fe-modified PZT piezoceramics

PZT-based piezoceramics have been widely explored for electronic device applications. In this study, iron (Fe)-modified PZT abbreviated as Pb1-3x/2 Fex(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 ceramics (PFZT) for x ≤ 0.05 were prepared by a semi-wet method. The effects of Fe doping on the crystal structure, surface morphology, dielectric and electrical behavior of PFZT ceramics were investigated systematically. Room temperature XRD patterns show a perovskite structure with a minor pyrochlore phase. FE-SEM demonstrates uniform and dense microstructures. Temperature and frequency-dependent dielectric constant and dielectric loss establish its importance for the purpose of device applications. During the experimentation, it has been shown that PFZT ceramics with x ≤ 0.05 are frequency-dependent in nature, whereas PFZT ceramics for x = 0.04 exhibits improved dielectric properties (εr~6045 at Tc~325 °C). The impedance spectroscopy studies show that electrical properties are highly influenced by the grain and grain boundaries.