Lead zirconium titanate (PZT, also Lead zirconate titanate) is a ceramic perovskite material that shows a marked piezoelectric effect - that is, it develops a voltage difference across two of its faces when compressed, and ferroelectric effect. It also features an extremely large dielectric constant. These properties make it one of the most prominent and useful electroceramics. It is used to make ultrasound transducers and other sensors and actuators, as well as high-value ceramic capacitors and FRAM chips. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word Κεραμεικος (the name of a suburb of Athens), and in its strictest sense refers to clay in all its forms. ... Perovskite (calcium titanium oxide, CaTiO3) is a relatively rare mineral occurring in orthorhombic (pseudocubic) crystals. ... Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain crystals to produce a voltage when subjected to mechanical stress. ... This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. ... In physics, the ferroelectric effect is an electrical phenomenon whereby certain ionic crystals may exhibit a spontaneous dipole moment. ... The dielectric constant εr (represented as or K in some cases) is defined as the ratio: where εs is the static permittivity of the material in question, and ε0 is the vacuum permittivity. ... While ceramics have traditionally been admired for their mechanical and thermal stability, their unique electrical, optical and magnetic properties have become of increasing importance in many key technologies including communications, energy conversion and storage, electronics and automation. ... Ultrasound is sound with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, approximately 20 kilohertz. ... A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another, or responds to a physical parameter. ... A sensor is a technological device or biological organ that detects, or senses, a signal or physical condition and chemical compounds. ... An actuator is the mechanism by which an agent acts upon an environment. ... Various types of capacitors A high voltage (15 kV AC) capacitor A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the electric field created between a pair of conductors on which equal but opposite electric charges have been placed. ... Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) is a type of non-volatile memory similar to EEPROM but based on electric field orientation and with near-unlimited number (exceeding 1010 for 5V devices and even more for 3. ...

Its chemical composition is PbZr_0.525Ti_0.475O₃. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... General Name, Symbol, Number zirconium, Zr, 40 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 5, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 91. ... General Name, Symbol, Number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic mass 47. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ...

See also

• PZT Material properties
• PVDF