Orientation dependence of the ferroelectric and piezoelectric behavior of Ba(Ti1−xZrx)O3 single crystals

The dielectric properties, ferroelectric polarization, and piezoelectric strain behavior of Ba(Ti1−xZrx)O3 (x=0.05 and 0.08) single crystals are studied for different crystal orientations. The study of dielectric properties suggests that the three phase transitions in BaTiO3 are pinched by substituting Ti with Zr but the anisotropic dielectric behavior is present in crystals of various orientations. The remnant polarization and strain behavior are also studied for different crystal directions. Higher strain and lower polarization are obtained along the pseudocubic 〈001〉 direction compared to those observed along the 〈110〉 and 〈111〉 directions in both orthorhombic (x=0.05) and rhombohedral (x=0.08) phase. The results for the 〈001〉 oriented orthorhombic crystals with x=0.05 indicate the highest strain level (∼0.25%) with almost hysteresis-free behavior and high piezoelectric coefficient (d33=500 pC/N).