Crystallographic Dependence of Loss in Domain Engineered Relaxor-PT Single Crystals

Domain engineered 001 oriented relaxor-PbTiO(3) ferroelectric crystals exhibit high electromechanical properties and low mechanical Q values, analogous to "soft" piezoelectric ceramics. However, their characteristic low dielectric loss (</=0.5%) and strain-electric field hysteresis are reflective of "hard" piezoelectric materials. In this work, the electromechanical behavior of relaxor-PT crystals was investigated as a function of crystallographic orientations. It was found that the electrical and mechanical losses in crystals depends on the specific engineered domain configuration, with high Q observed for the 110 orientation. The high Q, together with high electromechanical coupling ( approximately 0.9) for 110 oriented relaxor-PT crystals, make them promising candidates for resonant based high power transducer applications.