Ultrahigh transverse strain and piezoelectric behavior in (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-xPbTiO3 crystals -: art. no. 024104

Electric-field-induced transverse strain behavior of (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-xPbTiO(3) (PMNT/x) crystals with different cuts and compositions was investigated for using as electromechanical actuators. High transverse strain with low hysteresis was achieved for rhombohedral crystals near morphotropic phase boundary (28 <= x <= 30). Optimum crystallographic cut was found to be pseudocubic [001](L)x[(1) over bar 10](W)x[110](T) for rhombohedral crystals, exhibiting high transverse strain S-1 similar to-0.33% with hysteresis similar to 8% and ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficient (d(31))similar to-3100 pC/N. When E field < 6 kV/cm, the strain versus E-field curve is approximately linear, without obvious hysteresis. negative E field of -1.5 kV/cm can be applied to PMNT/x crystals with minimal hysteresis. However, strain behavior of PMNT/x crystals cut into [0 (1) over bar1](L)x[(2) over bar 11](W)x[111](T) or [100](L)x[010](W)x[001](T) did not exhibit excellent properties as we expected. High transverse strain with low hysteresis makes PMNT/x crystals promising candidates for high-performance strain actuators. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.