Growth and properties of PMN-PT single crystals

Piezoelectric single crystals of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) show superior properties to piezoelectric ceramics and piezoelectric films in device applications. However., the applications of PMN-PT single crystals are limited by the lack of a simple and reproducible fabrication technique. By studying the effect of fabrication condition on the growth of PMN-PT single crystals in the flux method, we successfully obtained PMN-PT single crystals. The size of the obtained crystals varied from I to 4 mm, mostly showing regular cubic shape. X-ray diffraction technique identified the crystal phase was PMN-PT. Electron diffraction spectroscope analysis indicated that the composition of the single crystals was closed to the designed solid solution. The (0 0 1) single crystals showed a dielectric constant peak of 15,200 at 42 degreesC. The crystals had a remnant polarization 16 muc/cm(2). a spontaneous polarization 22.1 muc/cm(2), and a coercive field 2.55 kV/cm. Our measurement indicated the temperature dependence and frequency dependence of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of PMN-PT single crystals. The results will be a great help for the applications of PMN-PT single crystals. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.