Effects of stress and electric field on the electromechanical properties of Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 single crystals

Abstract

The effects of constant bias stress and electric field on the electromechanical behavior of ⟨001⟩-oriented Pb(Mg1∕3Nb2∕3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 (PMN–0.32PT) relaxor ferroelectric single crystals have been investigated. Both unipolar and bipolar responses are considered. Obtained results show that compressive bias stress with appropriate magnitude can significantly increase the piezoelectric constant. It is also found that bias electric field in the poling direction stabilizes the microstructure of PMN–0.32PT and reduces the hysteresis loss. The observed effects of bias stress and bias electric field on the electromechanical properties of ⟨001⟩-oriented PMN–0.32PT single crystals can be interpreted in terms of phase-transformation-induced polarization rotation through intermediate phases.