Effects of chemical compositions on the growth of relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)1-xTixO3 single crystals

The single crystals of complex perovskite Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)(1-x)TixO3 (PSNT) with composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (x = 0.425) were grown by an improved high-temperature solution method. The mixtures of PbO and B2O3 with different ratios were used as flux. The variations of chemical compositions, such as the ratios of PSNT vs. flux and PbO vs. B2O3, were shown to influence the morphology and quality of the grown crystals. By adjusting the chemical parameters appropriately, the optimum chemical compositions were found to be PSNT/flux = 25/75 and PbO/B2O3 = 70/30 (molar ratio), which resulted in the growth of high-quality crystals. The structure of PSNT crystals was characterized by XRD. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.