Lead-Free Piezo Ceramic Material from PI Ceramic Successful in First Industrial Applications

PI Ceramic: PIC700 material is a lead-free ceramic material now successfully employed by PI Ceramic in first industrial applications.

PIC700 is based on modified bismuth sodium titanate (BST) and is suitable for industrial ultrasound applications in the MHz range as well as for sonar and hydrophonic applications. The maximum operating temperature is 200 °C.

PI Ceramic can manufacture quantities of approx. 50 kilograms per process cycle from which up to several ten thousand piezo elements can be manufactured with the known standard dimensions using press technology.

"The further development of the material now needs to be conducted in close cooperation with customers. We have already gained first experiences with its use in a commercial power ultrasonic transducer and expect PIC700 to prove itself in further applications. We have also seen that this new material behaves differently in applications than what we have seen with PZT materials. Therefore suitable applications for lead-free piezo ceramics must be evaluated and qualified, and this is best achieved in cooperation with end users", states Eberhard Hennig, Head of Central Development at PI Ceramic.

PI Ceramic in Brief

PI Ceramic is considered a global leading player in the field of piezo actuators and sensors. The broad range of expertise in the complex development and manufacturing process of functional ceramic components combined with state-of-the-art production equipment ensure high quality, flexibility and adherence to supply deadlines. Prototypes and small production runs of custom-engineered piezo components are available after short processing times. PI Ceramic also has the capacity to manufacture medium-sized to large series in automated lines. PI Ceramic, a subsidiary of Physik Instrumente (PI) GmbH & Co. KG, is located in the city of Lederhose, Thuringia, Germany.