Electric-field-induced strain and piezoelectric properties of a high Curie temperature Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–PbTiO3 single crystal

The temperature dependence of dielectric and piezoelectric properties, electric-field-induced strains of 0.66 Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–0.34 PbTiO3 single crystals, which were grown directly from melt by using the modified Bridgman technique with the allomeric Pb(Mg2/3Nb1/3)O3–PbTiO3 seed crystals, were determined as a function of crystallographic orientation with respect to the prototypic (cubic) axes. Ultrahigh piezoelectric response (d33∼2000 pC/N, k33∼94%) and strain levels up to 0.8%, comparable to rhombohedral (1−x)Pb(Mg2/3Nb1/3)O3–xPbTiO3 and (1−x)Pb(Zn2/3Nb1/3)O3–xPbTiO3 single crystals, were observed for the 〈0 0 1〉-oriented crystals. Strain levels up to 0.47% and piezoelectric constant d33∼1600 pC/N could be achieved being related to an electric-field-induced rhombohedral–orthorhombic phase transition for the 〈1 1 0〉-oriented crystals. In addition, high electromechanical coefficients k33 (∼88%) can be achieved even heating to 110 °C. High TC (∼200 °C), large electromechanical coefficients k33 (∼94%) and low dielectric loss factor (∼1%), along with large strain make the crystals promising candidates for a wide range of electromechanical transducers.