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.