Temperature dependence of the dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants for Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3 piezocrystals

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PZT) ferroelectric single crystals were grown successfully using the solid state crystal growth method. The crystals were found to exhibit higher Curie temperatures T(C)s and ferroelectric phase transition temperatures T(R-T)s when compared to the binary Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 system. Specifically the composition 0.4Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.25PbZrO(3)-0.35PbTiO(3) which lies close to the rhombohedral-tetragonal morphotropic phase boundary, was investigated. The full set of materials constants, including elastic (c and s), piezoelectric (d, g, e, and h), and dielectric permittivity (epsilon/epsilon(0)), were determined using the IEEE standards as a function of temperature ranging between 25 and 100 degrees C. The electromechanical coupling factors k(33) and k(32) were found to be 93.3% and 93.5%, respectively, with corresponding piezoelectric coefficients d(33) and d(32) on the order of 1530 and -1440 pC/N. Together with high phase transition temperatures (T-C of 216 degrees C and TR-T on the order of 144 degrees C) and high coercive field E-C similar to 4.6 kV/cm, make PMN-PZT single crystals promising candidates for high temperature actuator and transducer applications. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.