Key Facts at a Glance
- CeramTec's lead-free piezoceramics (BNT-BT) are RoHS-compliant alternative eliminating reliance on exemptions
- Particularly suited for industrial flow sensing, high-power ultrasonic systems, and medical devices
- Water-based, solvent-free manufacturing process - significantly reduced environmental footprint
- Custom geometries and material properties available - developed in close partnership with OEM engineers
Become part of the more sustainable world of lead-free piezoceramics: Our lead-free ceramic components based on BNT-BT can be produced in various shapes and geometries - depending on your requirements, they may also be integrated into aultrasonic assemblies designed and produced by CeramTec e.g. as sensor or transducer for flow meter or medical applications. We create added value for manufacturers of industrial and medical products with highly customised solutions that meet their requirements.
Due to specific material properties, lead-free piezoceramics can be a viable alternative to lead containing materials, they are especially suited for a variety of applications using thickness mode. CeramTec combines unique material development capabilities with decades of experience in the manufacture of piezoelectric ceramic components and offers to be a reliable development partner for lead-free piezoceramic solutions for demanding industrial and medical applications.
CeramTec can also offer a design and development process for manufacturing of fully assembled sensors and transducers depending on your requirements.
Environmental & Regulatory:
- Non-toxic raw materials - eliminates up to 60% lead oxide content (PbO) vs. standard PZT
- RoHS-compliant manufacturing, supporting EU Green Deal product compliance roadmaps
- Water-based, solvent-free production process - no alcohol-based solvents required
Technical Performance Advantages:
- Increased anisotropy → lower planar coupling coefficient (kp), ideal for thickness-mode transducers
- Significantly reduced mechanical losses → less self-heating in high-power ultrasonic applications (measured: up to 30% lower heat generation vs. hard PZT in comparable drive conditions)
- High material consistency across production batches - critical for series production in medical and industrial applications
- Wide geometry flexibility: discs, rings, cylinders, plates in various dimensions
Where Lead-free Surpasses Conventional PZT
One of the most compelling findings from CeramTec's ongoing R&D in lead-free piezoceramics: under certain operating conditions, our BNT-BT materials do not merely match PZT performance - they exceed it.
In Langevin transducer testing at 40 kHz, our high-temperature lead-free material LF162 demonstrated significantly higher displacement output than PZT807 - both in as-built condition and after repeated high-temperature cycling up to 135°C. After 10 thermal cycles at 135°C, LF162 showed a +9 µm improvement in displacement, ultimately outperforming PZT807 across all power levels.
At the same time, thermal imaging revealed 15–20°C lower self-heating in lead-free BNT-BT materials compared to standard PZT under equivalent drive conditions - with no active cooling applied. Less heat generation means longer duty cycles, reduced thermal stress on surrounding components, and greater system reliability.
| Material | Condition | Displacement @ 5W | vs. PZT807 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LF162 (High D33) | After 10x 135°C cycles | ~66 µm | +30% better |
| PZT807 (Reference) | After 10x 135°C cycles | ~51 µm | Baseline |
| LF110 (High Temp) | After 10x 135°C cycles | ~41 µm | –19% |
Two Materials for Two Strategies: LF162 vs. LF110
CeramTec offers two different BNT-BT formulation-based systems, each optimized for different design requirements. The two most important ones currently are:
- LF162 – The High-Performance Material: Best suited for high-power ultrasonic applications where maximum displacement and efficiency are critical. LF162 features a higher average d33 coefficient and a higher Qm value, making it the first choice for evaluation in power ultrasonic transducers, surgical scalpels, homogenizers, and welding systems. Particularly noteworthy is that in CeramTec experiments, the performance of LF162 improves after thermal conditioning — a unique property that sets it apart from conventional PZT.
- LF110 – The High-Temperature Material Designed for applications requiring stability at elevated temperatures. In addition to a higher d33, LF110 offers a higher depolarization temperature and higher permittivity, making it potentially well-suited for autoclavable medical devices, sterilizable surgical instruments, and sensor applications in thermally demanding environments. CeramTec investigations have shown that it retains its performance across repeated autoclave cycles at 126 °C and 135 °C.
Example Lead-free Applications
| Application | Industry | Key Benefit of Lead-free |
| Liquid flow sensing (ultrasonic) | Industrial automation, water management | Low planar coupling → cleaner signal |
| High-power ultrasonic transducers | Industrial cleaning, welding | Lower self-heating, longer duty cycles |
| Disposable surgical instruments | Medical device manufacturing | single-use safe |
| Air bubble & fill-level detection | Medical safety systems, pharma | High sensitivity in thickness mode |
| Piezo-driven micropumps | Lab-on-chip, diagnostics | Increased biocompatibility compared to PZT |
