The phase composition, relaxor behavior and strain performance of the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 single crystal

For exploiting relaxor materials with high strain and low hysteresis, Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃– Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (PMN-PZN) crystal was designed and grown. The grown crystal is light yellow with a maximum size of 13 × 10 × 8 mm³. Rietveld refinement and domain configuration at room temperature confirm the coexistence of cubic and rhombohedral phases, and the cubic phase is dominant. The Curie temperature of the grown crystal is slightly lower than room temperature and shows a strong frequency dependence. Strong dielectric relaxor performance is demonstrated by means of different ways. At a temperature of 26 ℃ and an electric field of 35 kV/cm, the saturation polarization reaches 22.62 μC/cm², the residual polarization is almost zero, the strain is about 0.1 %, and the hysteresis degree is 4 ∼ 5 %. Moderate strain and low hysteresis make PMN-PZN crystal display potential application in high-precision actuators. Moreover, in-situ domain evolution under an electric field was observed to understand the polarization and strain behaviors.