Growth and properties of 4-in. diameter ferroelectric single crystal Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 by the seed-induced modified Bridgman technique

Growth and quality of single crystals are unusually sensitive to the thermal distribution. In the appropriate thermal field ferroelectric single crystal 23Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-44Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-33PbTiO3 (abbr. PIN-PMN-PT, or PIMNT), with 105 mm in diameter and 150 mm in length, is successfully grown by the modified Bridgman technique. This as-grown crystal shows excellent properties (k33~0.92, d33~2200 pC/N, Ec~5.7 kV/cm, Tc~185 °C, Tr/t~120 °C; kt~0.60) near morphotropic phase boundary. In order to suppress the compositional segregation and improve the crystal quality, the controllable orientation growth for specific applications is performed successfully using the same oriented seed. For magnetoelectric applications as-grown <110> oriented PIN-PMN-PT crystal demonstrates its high homogeneity (Δε<±6%, Δtanδ<±14%, ΔTr/t<±3%, ΔTc<±3% and Δkt<±2% in a Φ80 mm transverse wafer). These results of single crystal PIN-PMN-PT will greatly meet demands of its devices and promote its applications in the future.