Domain Contribution to Elastic Nonlinearity in Pb(Zr, Ti)O3-Based Piezoelectric Ceramics

In order to clarify the origin of the elastic nonlinearity in piezoelectric ceramics, the effect of Mn substitution into Pb (Zr,Ti)O3-based ceramics on the nonlinear elastic stiffness was investigated by analyzing the transient response after burst excitation. The real part of 3rd-order elastic stiffness drastically decreased with increasing Mn content. It was also found that the appearance of the elastic nonlinearity enhanced the mechanical loss. From the results, the irreversible domain wall motion overcoming the potential barrier due to defect complexes was considered as a possible origin of the elastic nonlinearity.