Composition dependence of electro-mechanical properties and field induced phase transformations in [001]C PIN–PMN–PT single crystals

Abstract

The compositional dependence of the electro-mechanical properties of [001]C cut and poled relaxor ferroelectric lead indium niobate—lead magnesium niobate—lead titanate, xPb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-(1–x−y)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-yPbTiO3 (PIN–PMN–PT) single crystals was characterized under combined stress and electric field loading. Increasing the PIN and PT concentrations in compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary affected the piezoelectric, dielectric, and compliance coefficients, and the ferroelectric, pyroelectric, and thermal expansion coefficients, as well as the ferroelectric rhombohedral to ferroelectric orthorhombic phase transformation thresholds. The combinations of stress and electric field that induced the phase transformations were determined as a function of temperature. The results indicate that the linear response regime can be increased by modifying the composition, but this reduces the piezoelectric, dielectric, and compliance coefficients. This may be a desirable trade off in device design where linearity and low loss are important to the application.