PZT Composite and a fabrication method thereof

• US 4,412,148 A
• Filed: 04/24/1981
• Issued: 10/25/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/1981
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Inventors: Cross, Leslie E., Newnham, Robert E., Biggers, James V., Klicker, Kenneth A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Budd, Mark O.
• Application Number:
  US06/257,289
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 310/311, 310/800, 310/357-359, 252/62.9
• US Class Current: 310/358
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/302 Sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/852 Composite materials, e.g. having 1-3 or 2-2 type connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/8554 Lead zirconium titanate based
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 310/80 Piezoelectric polymers, e.g. PVDF

Abstract

A composite of PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) and a compliant polymer matrixaving 3-1 connectivity (i.e., in a diphasic material, one of the two phases is continuously self-connected in all three mutually perpendicular directions and the second phase is self-connected only along one of the three mutually perpendicular directions) and fabrication method thereof is described. An array of parallel PZT rod elements is embedded in a mechanically compliant polymer matrix with their axes along the direction of the poling electric field. Such a composite has a high value of g_h, d_h and g₃₃ with very little sacrifice in the value of d₃₃.

Claims

1. A PZT-polymer composite material of 3-1 connectivity which comprises:

a matrix of a polymer;

a plurality of PZT rods embedded in said matrix of the polymer each member of said plurality of PZT rods having the longitudinal axis thereof aligned in the same direction; and

means for electrically poling said PZT material with poling field parallel to the direction of the axes of said plurality of PZT rods.

2. The PZT-polymer composite material of claim 1 wherein said plurality PZT rods are dispersed throughout said matrix of the polymer.

3. The PZT-polymer composite material of claim 2 wherein said plurality of PZT rods are of variable diameter for obtaining desired characteristics of said PZT-polymer composite material.

4. The PZT-polymer composite material of claim 3 which includes silver electrodes on opposite surfaces thereof, said opposite surfaces being generally perpendicular to the axes of said plurality of PZT rods.