Growth and study of PbFe1/2Ta1/2O3 single crystals

Single crystals of the composition PbFe1/2Ta1/2O3 are grown by the method of mass crystallization from flux. It is established that, unlike the PbFe1/2Ta1/2O3 ceramic, the synthesized single crystals possess pronounced relaxor properties: the maximum of the dielectric constant is diffuse and its temperature, T-m, increases by more than 70 K with an increase in the frequency from 10(2) to 10(6) Hz. It is assumed that the unusual properties of the PbFe1/2Ta1/2O3 crystals are caused by mesoscopically inhomogeneous compositional ordering and comparatively high conductivity providing favorable conditions for the appearance of the volume-charge and thermal electron polarization. (C) 2002 MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica.