Abstract: The present invention provides new ferroelectric ceramic materials which can be sintered at a temperature lower than that of the conventional ferroelectric ceramic materials and upon sintering, devices formed of the new ferroelectric ceramic materials possesses excellent piezoelectric properties which are suitable for many industrial applications. The ferroelectric ceramic material includes a composition with a general formula of wPb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3?xPb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3?yPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3?zPbZrO3?(1?w?x?y?z)PbTiO3, in which 0<w<1, 0<x<1, 0?y<1, 0<z<1, w+x+y+z<1, and 0.5?w+x+y. A method of preparing a ferroelectric ceramic material includes preparing MgNb2O6, ZnNb2O6 and NiNb2O6 powder precursors, mixing the precursors with PbO, TiO2 and ZrO2 to form a mixture and calcining the mixture.

Abstract: The present invention provides a thin film photovoltaic device and a method of forming a thin film photovoltaic device. The thin film photovoltaic device has a substrate, a thin film layer formed on the substrate and first and second electrodes formed on one side of the thin film layer. By applying an electric field over the first and second electrodes, the thin film layer is polarized in a direction parallel to the surface plane of the film. Upon exposure to light, the thin film layer converts light energy into electricity. According to the method, a thin film layer is formed on a substrate. A first electrode and a second electrode are formed on one side of the thin film layer. By applying an electric field over the first and second electrodes, the thin film layer is polarized in a direction parallel to the surface plane of the film.