Piezoelectric performance enhancement of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.25PbTiO3 crystals by alternating current polarization for ultrasonic transducer

Abstract

The [001]-oriented Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.25PbTiO3(PMN-0.25PT) single crystal has been poled by alternating current polarization (ACP). The piezoelectric, dielectric, and electromechanical properties of PMN-0.25PT crystals were investigated with the variations of the electric field, polarization frequency, and cycles. For the piezoelectric performance of the PMN-0.25PT crystal, the optimum ACP condition was obtained under the electric field of 12–18 kV/cm in the frequency range of 20–40 Hz and after 20 cycles. It gives the crystals an increase by 40% from 1220 pC/N to 1730 pC/N in the piezoelectric coefficient compared with traditional direct current polarization. The patterns of the periodic stripe nanodomains under different polarization conditions were revealed by piezoresponse force microscopy. The enhancement of the piezoelectric performance is attributed to the high density of these domain walls. This work indicates that ACP is an effective way to modify the piezoelectric performance of PMN-0.25PT crystals and make it a promising candidate for sensors and transducers.

Transparent ferroelectric crystals with ultrahigh piezoelectricity

“…In addition, the AC-poled crystals exhibit a 30% enhancement in d 33 over the DC-poled crystals. This phenomenon was observed in many AC-poled relaxor-PT crystals 27,28,29,30 . To understand the mechanism for the enhanced piezoelectricity, we conducted phase-field simulations to calculate the piezoelectricity of PMN-28PT with different 71 o domain sizes, as shown in Fig.…”

Effects of alternating current poling on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of Pb(In0.5Nb0.5)O3–PbTiO3 crystals with a high Curie temperature

“…The enhancement of the piezoelectric and dielectric properties aer ACP are related to the optimization of the domain morphologies. 8,21,22,24 It should also be noted that 0.66PIN-0.34PT crystals have the rhombohedral perovskite phase. The ferroelectric crystals with the rhombohedral perovskite phase have eight spontaneous directions along h111i.…”

“…Compared with PMN-PT crystals, the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of 0.66PIN-0.34PT crystals aer ACP are more dependent on frequency. The previous work revealed that the piezoelectric performances of PMN-PT and PIN-PMN-PT crystals can be signicantly improved using low frequency ACP, 29,30 22 The ACP process can reduce the energy required for domain rotation, which makes domain rotation easy. 28 The poling cycle is the process of the reduction of the energy required for domain rotation.…”

“…Table 1 shows a comparison of the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of relaxor-PT crystals. 8,21,22,31,32 Compared with relaxor-PT crystals with a low E c (<6 kV cm À1 ), the enhancement ratio of ACP 0.66PIN-0.34PT crystals is not as high as for these crystals. Polarization switching can reect the domain wall motions and opposite domain nucleation and growth in the ACP process.…”

Element Segregation and Electrical Properties of PMN-32PT Grown Using the Bridgman Method

“…Large sized PMN-PT single crystals are grown mainly using the Bridgman technique [10][11][12]. Based on this technique, researchers have further managed to improve the di/piezoelectric properties of the PMN-PT system through some effective ways [13][14][15][16][17]. Hu et al [18] verified that the high-temperature poling technique was contributed to the enhanced piezoelectric properties.…”