Lead-free piezoelectric BCZT accelerometer: Design, optimization, and performance analysis

WEEE and RoHS regulations impose strict restrictions on lead content in electronics, whereas many accelerometers used in automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics currently rely on lead-based piezoceramics. To address this challenge, we design and develop a novel lead-free compressive-mode accelerometer based on BCZT (Barium Calcium Zirconate Titanate). Environmentally friendly BCZT ceramics were synthesized in this work. The freshly poled BCZT ceramics exhibited an initial maximum piezoelectric coefficient <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>d</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>33</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> of 350 pC/N, as measured immediately after poling. After storage and thermal cycling associated with temperature-coefficient characterization, the stabilized room-temperature <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>d</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>33</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> decreased to 281.96 pC/N, which is consistent with the commonly observed aging and domain-relaxation behavior of poled ferroelectric ceramics. Subsequently, we designed a new compressive-mode accelerometer featuring a symmetric dual-element configuration integrated with a charge-amplifier read-out circuit. Through systematic material-structure-circuit co-optimization, our BCZT-based accelerometer achieved a voltage sensitivity of 10.61 mV/(m/s 2 ) with an output error of ≤2% and ±7.08%FS linearity. Within the investigated operating temperature range of 24°C–70°C, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>d</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>33</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> decreased from 281.96 to 261.25 pC/N, corresponding to a 7.34% reduction. This research demonstrates that BCZT serves as a high-performance, lead-free alternative for conventional piezoelectric sensing materials, offering enhanced stability and precision for dynamic measurement applications.