We report fabrication by a traditional ceramics process of a dome-like actuator composed of two PZT piezoelectric ceramics, one doped with donors (La3+ and Nb5+) and the other with acceptors (Fe3+ and Ni2+). The results show that at 120 degrees C, the resistivity of PZT doped with La3+ and Nb5+ is three orders of magnitude more than that of PZT doped with Fe3+ and Ni2+. Upon poling, it creates gradient piezoelectric activity across its thickness. The actuator reveals a flextensional deformation and axial displacement due to the strains distribution induced by electrical field. We observed the resonant frequency of the actuator from 1 x 10(2) to 2 x 10(7) Hz, and identified three resonant modes: the flexural, radial, and thickness modes. The lowest resonant mode close to 5.3 kHz is the flexural mode, the radial mode resonant frequency is observed near 77 kHz, and the thickness mode is observed near 2 MHz. Under an applied electric field of 400 V/mm, the axial displacement of the 1-mm thick, 28-mm radius dome-like actuator is about 30 mm. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.