The Electro-Elastic Stability of LiNbO3 Crystal Irradiated By 6MeV Xe23+

The trigonal lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO
₃
, LN) is a multi-functional material, which possesses excellent pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties as well as the nonlinear optical properties etc. In this paper, the stability of electro-elastic properties of LN crystal irradiated by the 6MeV Xe
²³⁺
ions were evaluated for potential piezoelectric applications in harsh environment. the electrical resistivity of the irradiated LN was found to decrease with increasing irradiation dose. In contrast to the electrical resistivity, the relative dielectric permittivity ε
₂₂
/ε
₀
of LN sample was found to increase with increasing irradiation dose. The values of electromechanical coupling factor k
₂₁
, the elastic compliance s
₁₁
and the piezoelectric coefficient d
₂₁
for the irradiated samples were determined and found that the irradiated LN crystal could maintain its electro-elastic properties similar to the pristine crystal.