Improvement of piezoelectric properties through post hipping

Lead-zirconate-titanate materials added with donor dopants either in the A and B site were obtained by conventional solid state reaction of the starting oxides followed by hot isostatic pressing for two hours at 950°C and 100 MPa after sintering. The post HIPping temperature was 300°C under the sintering temperature so as to sligthly influence the morphology of grains, while the residual porosity was completely removed. The elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric characteristics of post-hipped samples were enhanced in comparison to the as sintered samples (e.g. d33 and kp increase about 5 and 8%, respectively) in agreement with the improved microstructure.