Mechanical property of sintered piezoelectric materials has been studied with special reference to the carbon content and sintering conditions.
It has been shown that the bending strength of PZT-based material is well explained by the residual carbon content of sintered body. Oxidizing atmosphere during firing is so effective to achieve fine and uniform microstructure and higher bending strength. Binder content of green compact also has strong effect on the bending strength. Higher content of binder has a deleterious effect on the mechanical property because it might introduce reducing atmosphere during firing.