Control of conductivity and electric field induced strain in bulk Bi_(0.5)K_(0.5)TiO_3-BiFeO_3 ceramics

摘要

High electrical conductivity is one of the main obstacles for advances of bulk BiFeO_3 ceramics in piezoelectric applications. Here, we demonstrate that the electrical conductivity of BiFeO_3 can be lowered by compositional modification with Bi_(0.5)K_(0.5)TiO_3 and further reduced by annealing in oxidizing or reducing atmospheres. These manipulations also allow for tailoring of other functional properties. In particular, we demonstrate that the electric field induced strain performance of bulk bismuth ferrite can be significantly improved by addition of 30% Bi_(0.5)K_(0.5)TiO_3 and thermal annealing in an inert atmosphere.