A method of manufacturing a dielectric for a capacitor and a dielectric for a capacitor manufactured thereby are provided. A dielectric for a capacitor is prepared by calcining a precursor mixture containing lead, lanthanum, zirconium, and titanium to produce calcined powder, adding additives including sodium, potassium, and the like to the powder, and sintering the mixture at a low temperature, whereby the dielectric has a high density and a large dielectric constant.

Provided is a piezoelectric ceramics including crystal grains each including: a first region that is formed of a perovskite-type metal oxide having a crystal structure in which a central element of a unit cell is located at an asymmetrical position; and a second region that is formed of a perovskite-type metal oxide having a crystal structure in which a central element of a unit cell is located at a symmetrical position, and that is present inside the first region, wherein a ratio of a cross-sectional area of the second region to a cross-sectional area of the piezoelectric ceramics is 0.1% or less.

A process for manufacturing ceramic-metal composite material, comprises dissolving ceramic powder into water to obtain an aqueous solution of ceramic; mixing metal powder having a multimodal particle size where largest particle size is one fourth of the minimum dimension of a device, with the aqueous solution of ceramic to obtain a powder containing ceramic precipitated on the surface of metal particles; mixing the powder containing ceramic precipitated on the surface of the metal particles, with ceramic powder having a particle size below 50 μm, to obtain a powder mixture; adding saturated aqueous solution of ceramic to the powder mixture to obtain an aqueous composition containing ceramic and metal; compressing the aqueous composition to form a disc of ceramic-metal composite material containing ceramic and metal; and removing water from the ceramic-metal composite material; wherein ceramic content of the disc is 10 vol-% to 35 vol-%. Alternatively, ceramic-ceramic composite material may be manufactured.

A ceramic-capacitor includes a first electrically-conductive-layer, a second electrically-conductive-layer arranged proximate to the first electrically-conductive-layer, and a dielectric-layer interposed between the first electrically-conductive-layer and the second electrically-conductive-layer. The dielectric-layer is formed of a lead-lanthanum-zirconium-titanate material (PLZT), wherein the PLZT is characterized by a dielectric-constant greater than 125, when measured at 25 degrees Celsius and zero Volts bias, and an excitation frequency of ten-thousand Hertz (10 kHz). A method for increasing a dielectric constant of the lead-lanthanum-zirconium-titanate material (PLZT) includes the steps of depositing PLZT to form a dielectric-layer of a ceramic-capacitor, and heating the ceramic-capacitor to a temperature not greater than 300° C.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a multilayer body including a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrodes, wherein the dielectric layers and the internal electrodes are stacked alternately; and external electrodes provided on end surfaces of the multilayer body and electrically connected to the internal electrodes, wherein the dielectric layers each include main crystal grains including calcium and/or strontium, and zirconium; and an additive component including lithium, the internal electrodes include copper, and the dielectric layers have lithium concentrations with a standard deviation of about 1.03 atomic percent or less in the thickness direction.

A ceramic composition includes a ceramic powder and a phosphor (P). The phosphor (P) has a content of 1 to 2 wt %, based on a total weight of the ceramic powder not including the phosphor (P).

A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric body having a main phase configured by lead zirconate titanate and a heterogenous phase configured by a different component to lead zirconate titanate, and a pair of electrodes provided on the piezoelectric body. The piezoelectric body has a surface region within 10 μm of a surface, and an inner region more than 10 μm from the surface. A surface area coverage of the heterogenous phase in a cross section of the surface region is at least 0.75% greater than a surface area coverage of the heterogenous phase in a cross section of the inner region.

A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric body having a main phase configured by lead zirconate titanate and a heterogenous phase configured by a different component to lead zirconate titanate, and a pair of electrodes provided on the piezoelectric body. The piezoelectric body has a surface region within 10 μm of a surface, and an inner region more than 10 μm from the surface. A surface area coverage of the heterogenous phase in a cross section of the surface region is at least 0.75% greater than a surface area coverage of the heterogenous phase in a cross section of the inner region.

The invention relates to a ceramic material, comprising lead zirconate titanate, which additionally contains K and optionally Cu. The ceramic material can be used in an electroceramic component, for example a piezoelectric actuator. The invention also relates to methods for producing the ceramic material and the electronic component.

The invention relates to a ceramic material, comprising lead zirconate titanate, which additionally contains K and optionally Cu. The ceramic material can be used in an electroceramic component, for example a piezoelectric actuator. The invention also relates to methods for producing the ceramic material and the electronic component.