Overcoming the performance ceiling of textured piezoelectric ceramics.

Zhang, Jinjing; Wang, Zidong; Yang, Shuai; Liu, Ruixuan; Chang, Jianglei; Wu, Haijun; Wang, Mingwen; Chen, Xiaoqing et al. · Science · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Textured piezoelectric ceramics could deliver the ultrahigh piezoelectricity of single crystals while retaining the mechanical robustness and cost-effectiveness of conventional ceramics, but after decades of effort, their piezoelectricity has not approached that of single crystals. We exploited compositional flexibility of textured ceramics, a critical advantage over single-crystal counterparts, using a machine-learning approach. Our samarium (Sm)-doped Pb(In<sub>1/2</sub>Nb<sub>1/2</sub>)O<sub>3</sub>-Pb(Sc<sub>1/2</sub>Nb<sub>1/2</sub>)O<sub>3</sub>-PbTiO<sub>3</sub> textured ceramics exhibited an ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficient (<i>d</i><sub>33</sub>) of 1720 picocoulombs per newton and a Curie temperature of 250°C. These values are comparable to, or even surpass, those of state-of-the-art single crystals. In situ x-ray diffraction and Rayleigh analysis indicate that their exceptional piezoelectricity is predominantly intrinsic rather than driven by domain switching. Leveraging these textured ceramics, we fabricated a piezoelectric accelerator that exhibits not only higher sensitivity but also substantially better reliability than its single-crystal counterparts.