Improved thermal stability of [0 0 1]c poled 0.24Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–0.47Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.29PbTiO3 single crystal with manganese doping

• Temperature behavior of piezoelectric properties in Mn-doped and undoped PIN–PMN–PT.
• Higher curie temperature, coercive field and mechanical quality from Mn substitution.
• Better temperature stability of k33, d33 and Qm in Mn-doped PIN–PMN–PT.

The temperature dependence of dielectric, piezoelectric, and electromechanical coupling properties of 0.5 wt.% manganese-doped and undoped [0 0 1]c-poled 0.24Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3–0.47Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.29PbTiO3 (0.24PIN–0.47PMN–0.29PT) single crystals has been investigated. Compared to the undoped single crystal, the Mn-doped 0.24PIN–0.47PMN–0.29PT demonstrated higher level of coercive field (9.8 kV/cm), increased Curie temperature (187 °C), improved mechanical quality factor Qm (196), decreased piezoelectric constant d33 and comparable electromechanical coupling factor k33, indicating hardening effects caused by the manganese ion substitution. More importantly, it was found that the Mn substitution significantly enhanced temperature stabilities of k33, d33 and Qm, leading to 30–40 °C improvement of the usage temperature range. These results show the application potential of Mn-doped ternary PIN–PMN–PT single crystals for the high-temperature and high-power electromechanical devices.