Electromechanical characterization of Pb(In0.5Nb0.5)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 crystals as a function of crystallographic orientation and temperature

Relaxor based Pb(In0.5Nb0.5)O-3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 ternary single crystals (PIN-PMN-PT) were reported to have broader temperature usage range (TR-T) and comparable piezoelectric properties to Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 (PMNT) crystals. In this work, the orientation dependent dielectric, piezoelectric and electromechanical properties for PIN-PMN-PT crystals were investigated along < 001 > and < 110 > directions. The electromechanical couplings k(33) and k(32) for < 110 > poled crystals were found to be 0.91 and 0.91, respectively, with piezoelectric coefficients d(33) and d(32) on the order of 925 and -1420 pC/N. Of particular significance was the mechanical quality factor Q(33) for < 110 > oriented crystals, which was found to be >= 500, much higher than the Q values of < 001 > oriented relaxor-PT crystals (Q similar to 70-200). The temperature dependence of the piezoelectric properties exhibited good temperature stability up to their ferroelectric phase transition TR-T similar to 125 degrees C, indicating < 001 > and < 110 > oriented PIN-PMN-PT are promising materials for transducer applications, with the latter for high power resonant devices where low loss (high Q) was required.