Growth of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 single crystals by the laser heated pedestal growth technique

Single crystals of the ferroelectric Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 (x = 0.05 and 0.08) we re grown by laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique. The perovskite s tructure of the crystals was identified by the X-ray diffraction technique. Crystals were examined by Laue patterns and scanning electron microscopy ( SEM), which indicated that the single crystals were of good crystallinity a nd compositional homogeneity. The anisotropic dielectric and piezoelectric behavior was characterized. The Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 single crystals possessed a high-level hysteresis-free electromechanical strain and are promising lead -free ferroelectric crystals for the piezoelectric transducer applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.