Processing and electromechanical properties of lanthanum-doped Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ extruded piezoelectric fibres

This article describes the processing and characterisation of lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT)-based ferroelectric fibres for composite transducer applications. X-ray diffraction of the extruded and sintered fibres indicated some lead loss during sintering; however, the fibres exhibited low porosity (1.54%), high maximum piezoelectric strain (4041ppm) and relatively low coercive field (0.77kV/mm). The low coercive field of the lanthanum-doped fibres may be advantageous in terms of facilitating polarization of the fibres in composite architectures.