Abstract: The rapid growth of new electromechanical applications has increased the demand for ferroelectric ceramics with excellent piezoelectric properties and a wide temperature operating range. However, achieving robust piezoelectricity and temperature stability simultaneously in lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃) based piezoelectric ceramics poses a significant challenge. This study proposes a new material system of 0.98Pb_0.84Ba_0.16(Zr_2/3Ti_1/3)O₃-0.02Pb(Sb_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ + x wt.%Sm₂O₃ (PBZT-PSN-xSm) to address this challenge. Remarkably, the ceramics x = 0.4 demonstrate excellent piezoelectric properties (including piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ of 610 pC/N and Curie temperature T_C of 290 °C) and favorable temperature stability (i.e., d₃₃ varies less than 10 % within 25-200 °C). The high piezoelectric properties arise from the optimized phase fraction between rhombohedral (R) and tetragonal (T) phases and the increased grain size, which enhance the lattice distortion and the domain switching under electric fields, respectively. The superior temperature stability can be attributed to stable crystal structure and domain structure. These findings indicate that PBZT-PSN-xSm ceramics hold great promise for practical utilization in high-temperature transducers and sensors.

Key words: Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ ceramics, Piezoelectricity, Temperature stability, Sm₂O₃ doping