An effective index for high-performance piezoelectrics

Abstract

Piezoelectric materials have been attracting wide research interest for decades due to their ability to interconvert mechanical and electrical energy. Various mechanisms from different perspectives have been proposed to explain high piezoelectricity; however, a unified framework across diverse perovskite piezoelectric systems remains elusive. Yao et al. introduced a concept termed fluctuating local polarization (FLP) as an effective index for high piezoelectricity in perovskite ferroelectrics. FLP describes the composition-dependent piezoelectric performance in individual solid solutions and also accounts for high piezoelectricity across distinct systems. The FLP metric integrates the magnitude of local electric dipoles and the disorder of their orientations. This concept does not supersede traditional viewpoints but rather rationalizes them under a common microscopic index: local polarization flexibility. FLP is not merely an explanatory fingerprint of high piezoelectricity; it can also serve as a practical reference for engineering the next generation of ferroelectric materials.

Keywords

Piezoelectric ceramic / ferroelectrics / piezoelectricity / polarization

References

[1] Yao Y,Hu Y.Fluctuating local polarization: a generic fingerprint for enhanced piezoelectricity in Pb-based and Pb-free perovskite ferroelectrics.Nat Commun2025;16:7442 PMCID:PMC12343838

[2] Jaffe B,Jaffe H.Piezoelectric Ceramics, 3th ed.; Academic Press, 1971.

[3] Li F,Gao X,Chen LQ.Ferroelectric materials toward next-generation electromechanical technologies.Science2025;389:eadn4926

[4] Qiu C,Zhang N.Transparent ferroelectric crystals with ultrahigh piezoelectricity.Nature2020;577:350-4

[5] Höfling M,Riemer LM.Control of polarization in bulk ferroelectrics by mechanical dislocation imprint.Science2021;372:961-4

[6] Li J,Zhu F,Yao F.(K, Na) NbO₃-based lead-free piezoceramics: fundamental aspects, processing technologies, and remaining challenges.J Am Ceram Soc2013;96:3677-96

[7] Lv X,Xiao D,Wu J.Emerging new phase boundary in potassium sodium-niobate based ceramics.Chem Soc Rev2020;49:671-707

[8] Fu J,Li T.Ultrahigh piezoelectricity in (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Sn)O₃ lead-free compounds with enormous domain wall contribution.Acta Materialia2022;230:117862

[9] Damjanovic D.Contributions to the piezoelectric effect in ferroelectric single crystals and ceramics.J Am Ceram Soc2005;88:2663-76

[10] Liu H,Huang H.Role of reversible phase transformation for strong piezoelectric performance at the morphotropic phase boundary.Phys Rev Lett2018;120:055501

[11] Noheda B,Shirane G,Jones B.Stability of the monoclinic phase in the ferroelectric perovskite PbZr_1-xTi_xO₃.Phys Rev B2000;63:014103

[12] Fu H.Polarization rotation mechanism for ultrahigh electromechanical response in single-crystal piezoelectrics.Nature2000;403:281-3

[13] Liu H,Fan L.Critical role of monoclinic polarization rotation in high-performance perovskite piezoelectric materials.Phys Rev Lett2017;119:017601

[14] Theissmann R,Kling J.Nanodomains in morphotropic lead zirconate titanate ceramics: On the origin of the strong piezoelectric effect.J Appl Phys2007;102:024111

[15] Gao X,Chen Z.The mechanism for the enhanced piezoelectricity in multi-elements doped (K,Na)NbO₃ ceramics.Nat Commun2021;12:881 PMCID:PMC7873261

[16] Kumar A,Bowes PC.Atomic-resolution electron microscopy of nanoscale local structure in lead-based relaxor ferroelectrics.Nat Mater2021;20:62-7