Growth and characterization of the La3Ga4.85Fe0.15SiO14 piezoelectric single crystal

A new piezoelectric single crystal La3Ga4.85Fe0.15SiO14 (LGFS) was grown by the Czochralski method firstly. Its structural parameters were obtained by Rietveld refinement to the X-ray diffraction. The effective segregation coefficient k(eff) of Fe in the LGFS was determined to be 0.6. The cost of LGFS is reduced due to the doping of cheap Fe. The crystal density was measured to be 5.7 g cm(-3) by the buoyancy method. The defect structure of LGFS crystal was investigated by the chemical etching with 85% H2SO4 etchant. Dislocation etching pit patterns of LGFS crystal are consistent with the corresponding atomic arrangement schematics. Compared with LGS, LGN, LGT, and LGAS crystal, the LGFS crystal exhibits outstanding dielectric and piezoelectric properties, and epsilon(11), epsilon(33), d(11), and d(14) are 20.86, 51.99, 6.5 pC/N, and -5.10 pC/N, respectively. Therefore, LGFS may be a new potential piezoelectric crystal with high performance and low expense.