Pressure-induced Suppression of Piezoelectric Response in a 0.5Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.5Pb(Zr0.7Ti0.3)O3 Ceramic Near a Morphotropic Phase Boundary

Electromechanical properties of 0.5Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.5Pb(Zr0.7Ti0.3)O3 (0.5PNN-0.5PZT(0.7/0.3)) ceramics near a morphotropic phase boundary were investigated under the hydrostatic pressure p up to 600 MPa at room temperature, where the piezoelectric constants d33 = 850 pC/N and d31 = 332 pC/N were obtained in this material. The remarkable change in the pressure dependence of the electromechanical response was found, where the resonance and antiresonance curves in impedance and phase in k31 mode for the transverse electromechanical property of 0.5PNN-0.5PZT(0.7/0.3) decrease with increasing pressure, and disappear completely at about p = 600 MPa. It was also confirmed that after removal of applied pressures, the electromechanical response recovers. Accompanied with such suppression of piezoelectric response, the increase in 30% of the permittivity ϵr with increasing p, was observed.