Flexure-electrical effect in ferroelectric and paraelectric ceramics with perovskite structure

An electric voltage, arising across a sample of ferroelectric PZT or paraelectric SrTiO/sub 3/ ceramic with perovskite structure under an external bending stress, has been measured over a wide temperature range. Such a flexure-electrical effect occurs in any substance in the presence of a strain gradient. It was discovered that a.c. voltage arising on the sample faces normal to a strain gradient is directly proportional to the amplitude of sample vibrations and the sample thickness. A rather large value of a.c. voltage and its high temperature stability in the range of 20-200/spl deg/C for both materials under study may be interesting from an applications point of view.