Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-115). Also available via the Internet.

Lead-based and lead-free ferroelectric ceramic materials were prepared at low sintering temperatures with particular regard to their applications in thick film piezoelectric components. This project is focused on the development of processing methods and novel compositions to be used for thick film production by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on heat-resistant alloys. Lead-based glasses and an oxide mixture (LiCO3, Bi2O3 and CuO), denoted LBCu, with low melting points were used as sintering aids for lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics. The required temperature to achieve dense ceramics was reduced from 1250 to 950 °C. It was found that the highest ferroelectric properties were obtained by the use of LBCu in comparison with those incorporating glass additives due to the shielding effect of the glass phase between the ferroelectric grains. However, the results of thick film preparation shown that the samples with glass additives were much smoother and relatively free of cracks up to 1000 ÂoC. In terms of lead-free ceramics, novel compositions were prepared, based on (Ba,Ca)(Zr,Ti)O3-(K0.5Bi0.5)TiO3 (BCZT-KBT) solid solutions having various Ca and Zr contents. The new solid solutions exhibited interesting features comprising core-shell type microstructures and relaxor ferroelectric behaviour in addition to reduced sintering temperatures and higher Curie point compared with BCZT ceramics. The required sintering temperature reduced to 1125 °C at 65% KBT, in comparison with 1500 °C for pure BCZT. The results showed that the compositional heterogeneity in the shell regions was reduced by air quenching, relative to that of the slow-cooled state, due to the retention of the more chemically-homogeneous high temperature state by the quenching process. The improvements were evident in increased polarisation, piezoelectric coefficient and depolarisation temperature values. However, the slow-cooled samples exhibited high reversible strain levels due to the presence of polar nanoregions (PNRs) in the ergodic state within the shell regions. Comparing the results obtained for two BCZT compositions, it was demonstrated that the stability of the ferroelectric tetragonal phase in slow-cooled BCZT-KBT samples was improved for the ceramic with lower Ca and Zr concentrations, denoted x=0.06, in comparison with that for higher levels, denoted x=0.15. Moreover, the electric field-induced ferroelectric state in the quenched ceramic with x=0.06 was found to be more stable during heating, giving rise to an enhanced depolarisation temperature.