High Curie temperature piezocrystals in the BiScO3-PbTiO3 perovskite system

Perovskite ferroelectric single crystals in the (1-x)BiScO3-xPbTiO(3) (BSPT) system were grown using a flux method. The Curie temperature of rhombohedral BSPT(43/57) crystals was found to be about 404 degreesC, with a rhombohedral-tetragonal phase transition temperature (Tr-t) around 350 degreesC. The coercive field (E-c) was found to be 13.7 kV/cm for <001>-oriented crystals, while the coupling factor k(33) was determined to be similar to90% at room temperature and was nearly temperature independent until 330 degreesC. High piezoelectric properties together with a high Curie temperature and coercive field make rhombohedral BSPT crystals promising candidates for the next generation of high-performance, high-temperature actuators and transducers. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.