Effect of Electric Field Concentration by Electrode Patterning on the Incipient Piezoelectric Strain Properties of Lead-Free Piezoceramics

More than two decades of world-wide research efforts have resulted in several classes of potentially important materials. Among them are incipient piezoelectrics, which are especially useful for actuator applications. However, relatively large electric fields are required for activating the large incipient electromechanical strains. So far, many attempts have been made to reduce the required electric field by intentionally inhomogenizing the...