Partial Electrode Method for Loss and Physical Parameter Determination of Piezoceramics: Simplification, Error Investigation and Applicability

Abstract The IEEE standard to determine physical parameters of piezoceramics has been utilized for decades by many researchers, yet it omits presence of important loss factors and possesses serious deficits that restrict accurate parameter determination. To resolve these issues, the partial electrode (PE) method was previously proposed, though the focus has been merely made on development of the method itself. In this study, we provide method simplification and more detailed analysis. The omission of unnecessary samples greatly boosts experiment and analysis process. To prove that the PE method is reliable, possible causes of errors were investigated; it is shown that they were either negligibly small or can be resolved with proper calibration. Furthermore, Applicability of PE method to various types of piezoceramic materials and compatibility with impedance analyzers are shown. Finally, PE method is proved to be reliable and can be alternative to IEEE Standard on Piezoelectricity.