Development of Piezoelectric Accelerometer of Charge-Shear Type Having Temperature-Independent Sensitivity

A piezoelectric accelerometer based on detecting piezoelectric charge Q1 caused by shear strain S5 has been developed, which consists of two piezoelectric elements made from a ferroelectric ceramic and one condenser element also made from a ferroelectric ceramic. Positive temperature dependence of dielectric constant of the former piezoelectric element (PbZr0.51Ti0.49O3 modified with 0.7 mol% Nb2O5) is compensated by negative dependence of the latter condenser element [Pb0.8La0.2(Zr0.4Ti0.6)0.95O3 or Pb0.7Sr0.2La0.1(Zr0.5Ti0.5)0.975O3] over a range of -50 to 300°C, with the result that sensitivity and its deviation are obtained to be 42×10-12 C/G and within 5%, respectively.