Polar glass ceramics — A new family of electroceramic materials: Tailoring the piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties

Grain oriented multicomponent polar glass-ceramics have been prepared by crystallizing the glasses in a temperature gradient. Inexpensive, large area piezoelectric and pyroelectric devices can be fabricated by this method, and by adjusting the composition of the glasses and crystallization conditions, it is possible to tailor the properties to meet device requirements. Based on the growth characteristics and the connectivity pattern of the crystallites, the piezoelectric, pyroelectric and dielectric properties of glass-ceramic composites can be predicted. Two examples discussed in this paper are piezoelectric glass-ceramics which are not pyroelectric, and pyroelectric glass-ceramics which are not piezoelectric.