Nonlinearity in inverse and transverse piezoelectric properties of Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ film actuators under AC and DC applied voltages

The motion of domain walls is a crucial factor in piezoelectric properties and is usually related to the irreversible and hysteretic behaviors. Herein, we report on the investigation of inverse and transverse piezoelectric coefficients of capacitor-based and microcantilever-based Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ films with a change in the DC bias and the AC applied voltage. A large inverse piezoelectric strain coefficient of about 350 p.m./V, and a low strain hysteresis of about 7.1%, are achieved in the film capacitors under a low applied voltage of 2 V (20 kV/cm) which can benefit the actuators for motion control in high-precision systems. The field-dependences of the transverse piezoelectric coefficients, obtained from four-point bending and microcantilever displacement, are in good agreement with each other. The results also reveal that the irreversible domain-wall motion is attributed to the nonlinearity in the field-dependent piezoelectric strain and cantilever displacement.