Piezoelectric materials, which respond mechanically to applied electric field and vice versa, are essential for electromechanical transducers. Previous theoretical analyses have shown that high piezoelectricity in perovskite oxides is associated with a flat thermodynamic energy landscape connecting two or more ferroelectric phases. Here, guided by phenomenological theories and phase-field simulations, we propose an alternative design strategy to commonly used morphotropic phase boundaries to further flatten the energy landscape, by judiciously introducing local structural heterogeneity to manipulate interfacial energies (that is, extra interaction energies, such as electrostatic and elastic energies associated with the interfaces). To validate this, we synthesize rare-earth-doped Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–PbTiO₃ (PMN–PT), as rare-earth dopants tend to change the local structure of Pb-based perovskite ferroelectrics. We achieve ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficients d₃₃ of up to 1,500 pC N⁻¹ and dielectric permittivity ε₃₃/ε₀ above 13,000 in a Sm-doped PMN–PT ceramic with a Curie temperature of 89 °C. Our research provides a new paradigm for designing material properties through engineering local structural heterogeneity, expected to benefit a wide range of functional materials.

压电材料可对施加的电场产生机械响应，反之亦然，是机电换能器必不可少的材料。先前的理论分析表明，钙钛矿氧化物中的高压电性与连接两个或多个铁电相的平坦热力学能态有关。在这里，根据现象学理论和相场模拟，我们通过明智地引入局部结构异质性来操纵界面能（即额外的相互作用能），为常用的同相相界提出了另一种设计策略，以进一步平坦化能量格局。以及与界面相关的静电能和弹性能）。为了验证这一点，我们合成了稀土掺杂的Pb（Mg _1/3 Nb _2/3）O ₃ -PbTiO ₃（PMN-PT），因为稀土掺杂剂倾向于改变Pb基钙钛矿铁电体的局部结构。我们实现超高压电系数ð ₃₃向上到1500 PCÑ ^-1和介电常数ε ₃₃ / ε ₀以上的钐掺杂的PMN-PT陶瓷具有89℃的居里温度13000。我们的研究为通过工程局部结构异质性设计材料特性提供了新的范例，有望使各种功能材料受益。