Review Bismuth Sodium Titanate Based Materials for Piezoelectric Actuators Klaus Reichmann 1,*, Antonio Feteira 2,† and Ming Li 3,† Received: 19 October 2015; Accepted: 23 November 2015; Published: 4 December 2015 Academic Editor: Lorean Pardo 1 Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Materials, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 9, Graz 8010, Austria 2 Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK;
[email protected] 3 Advanced Materials Research Group, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +43-316-8733-2321 † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: The ban of lead in many electronic products and the expectation that, sooner or later, this ban will include the currently exempt piezoelectric ceramics based on Lead-Zirconate-Titanate has motivated many research groups to look for lead-free substitutes. After a short overview on different classes of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with large strain, this review will focus on Bismuth-Sodium-Titanate and its solid solutions. These compounds exhibit extraordinarily high strain, due to a field induced phase transition, which makes them attractive for actuator applications. The structural features of these materials and the origin of the field-induced strain will be revised. Technologies for texturing, which increases the useable strain, will be introduced. Finally, the features that are relevant for the application of these materials in a multilayer design will be summarized. Keywords: piezoelectric actuator; multilayer; lead-free; bismuth sodium titanate 1.