Growth, electric and thermal properties of lead scandium niobate-lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate ternary single crystals

Single crystals of the xPb(SC1/2Nb1/2)O-3-yPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-ZPbTiO(3) succ essfully been grown by a flux method using 71.4 mol% PbO-28.6 mol% B2O3 Aux . The crystals were grown in a platinum crucible by mass crystallization ac hieved by the slow cooling of a 50PbO : 20B(2)O(3) : 30PSMNT 29/34/37 (mol% ) molten solution from 1,200 degreesC to 880 degreesC at 1.2 degreesC/h. Th e resulting two types of crystals, 2-3 mm in length with perovskite structu re and 5-7 mm in length with pyrochlore structure, coexist. Inductive charg e plasma (ICP) chemical analysis revealed that the composition of the pulve rized powder of perovskite crystal is PSMNT 43/17/40: which is slightly dif ferent from the charged composition of PSMNT 29/34/37. One of the single cr ystals near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) showed a dielectric const ant peak of 200 degreesC. The grown PSMNT crystals show good thermal stabil ity of the perovskite phase with partical decomposition starting at 1128 de greesC and peritectic melting at 1308 degreesC.