Effect of the sintering temperature on the formation of ferroelectric properties of a lead zirconate–titanate ceramic

Effect of the sintering temperature on the formation of the microstructure, the domain structure, and the ferroelectric properties of a lead zirconate–titanate Pb(Ti$_{x}$Zr$_{1-x}$)O$_{3}$ piezoelectric ceramics has been studied. It is shown that the ferroelectric phase forms at a sintering temperature of 860$^{\circ}$C. At higher sintering temperatures, the main effect on the properties is due to a unit cell deformation and free charge carriers.