Particle engineering and intelligent processing of piezo ceramics

The sequence of reactions and morphological changes during the calcination of lead magnesium niobate titanate solid solution (PMNT) from a variety of reactant mixtures were studied. As predicted, the formation of the perovskite phase occurs with an expansion of the compact of the mixture and is accompanied by drastic changes in the microstructure. Reactive calcining of the mix to the point of maximum expansion (750°-800°C) results in ultrafine sinteractive powder and this facilitates the fabrication of dense, high performance PMNT ceramics at temperatures as low as 1150°C.