Electromechanical properties of 1-3 piezoelectric ceramic/piezoelectric polymer composites

Abstract

A study of the fabrication and electromechanical properties of piezoelectric 1-3 ceramic/polymer composites is reported in which the polymer phase, as well as the ceramic phase, is piezoelectric. Composites were prepared by both layering and dice-and-fill techniques. In the dice-and-fill technique, the major problem was preventing damage to the ceramic rods during the filling process. Both types of composite were found to present problems in the poling process. The electromechanical properties of the composites were measured and compared with modeling results. In general, it was found that the composite properties agreed with model predictions, with the exception of the piezoelectric coefficients, which were significantly lower than predicted.