Growth and improved properties of ternary piezoelectric single crystals in lead indium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate system

Ternary piezoelectric crystals Pb(In 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 -Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PIN-PMN-PT) have improved thermal and electrical stability than binary PMN-PT. To better understand crystal system and optimize crystal properties, we systematically investigated crystal growth for compositions between the two binary end-members, PMN-PT and PIN-PT. The ternary system has a compositional window where crystals can be grown directly from stoichiometric melt. PIN-PMN-PT crystals exhibited excellent piezoelectric properties (e.g., k 33 ∼0.87–0.92, d 33 ∼ 1000–2200 pm/V). Higher PIN content further stabilized piezoelectric performance by ∼ 40°C increase in T R/T and more than doubling E C (∼7.0 kV/cm). Such improvements are important for applications at elevated temperature and/or high-drive conditions.