This study presents a comparison between the inclusion- and
layer-type ceramiceceramic composite, consisting of relaxor and
piezoelectric phases. In the case of the layer-type composite, the
polarization and strain behaviors were observed as a function of the
volume ratio of the relaxor/ferroelectric phases. When the layer of
the relaxor phase is thicker than that of the ferroelectric phase, a
larger strainwas obtained with the electric field. The inclusion-type
inclusion-embedded composite with a ferroelectric/relaxor phase
volume ratio of 0.2 showed much larger polarization and strain
than the layered composite (layer composite) with the same ratio.
This indicates that the phase transition easily proceeds in the inclusion
type composite, which is related to the assumption that
ferroelectric inclusions serve a preferential nucleation or growth
site for relaxor-to-ferroelectric phase transition in the matrix
Table 1.