Characterization of high temperature piezoelectric crystals with an ordered langasite structure

Piezoelectric single crystals with the ordered langasite structure A3BC3D2O14, including Sr3TaGa3Si2O14, Sr3NbGa3Si2O14, Ca3TaGa3Si2O14, and Ca3TaAl3Si2O14 (CTAS), were studied as a function of temperature, up to 900 °C. The dielectric permittivity e11 and piezoelectric coefficient d11 of the ordered crystals were found to be on the orders of 12–16 and 4–5 pC/N, respectively, slightly lower than langasite (La3Ga5SiO14-LGS) or langanite (La3Ga5.5Nb0.5O14) crystals which possess a disordered structure. The mechanical quality factor Q and electrical resistivity ρ, however, were found to be greatly improved at elevated temperatures ≥500 °C, being one to two orders of magnitude higher, due to cation ordering. Of particular interest is the CTAS crystal, in which, the Ga cations are totally replaced by low cost Al cations. Together with its thermally stable piezoelectric properties and high electrical resistivity, CTAS crystals offer a competitive material for high temperature sensing applications.

[1]  Gustave C. Fralick,et al.  Development and application of high-temperature sensors and electronics for propulsion applications , 2006, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[2]  R. D. Shannon.  Dielectric polarizabilities of ions in oxides and fluorides , 1993 .

[3]  P. Harrop,et al.  The temperature coefficient of capacitance , 1968 .

[4]  Y. Ohno,et al.  Oxygen defects in langasite (La3Ga5SiO14) single crystal grown by vertical Bridgman (VB) method , 2007 .

[5]  Holger Fritze,et al.  Langasite for high-temperature bulk acoustic wave applications , 2001 .

[6]  T. Shrout,et al.  Growth and characterization of high temperature La3Nb0.5Ga5.3Al0.2O14 (LNGA) and La3Ta0.5Ga5.3Al0.2O14 (LTGA) piezoelectric single crystals , 2008 .

[7]  Holger Fritze,et al.  Langasite for high-temperature acoustic wave gas sensors , 2003 .

[8]  Zengmei Wang,et al.  Crystal growth and properties of Ca3NbGa3Si2O14 single crystals , 2003 .

[9]  S. Uda,et al.  Elastic, anelastic, and piezoelectric coefficients of langasite: resonance ultrasound spectroscopy with laser-Doppler interferometry , 2003, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[10]  Yiting Fei,et al.  High-temperature piezoelectric single crystal ReCa4O(BO3)3 for sensor applications , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control.

[11]  D. Kwon.  Ultra-Low Temperature Processing of Barium Tellurate Dielectrics , 2005 .

[12]  R. D. Shannon.  Revised effective ionic radii and systematic studies of interatomic distances in halides and chalcogenides , 1976 .

[13]  P. Harrop.  Temperature coefficients of capacitance of solids , 1969 .

[14]  Hai-kuan Kong,et al.  From ab initio forecast of piezoelectric properties to growth of piezoelectric single crystals , 2008 .

[15]  Dragan Damjanovic,et al.  Materials for high temperature piezoelectric transducers , 1998 .

[16]  D. Yuan,et al.  Crystal growth and dielectric, piezoelectric and elastic properties of Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 single crystal , 2007 .

[17]  Thomas R. Shrout,et al.  Characterization of piezoelectric single crystal YCa4O(BO3)3 for high temperature applications , 2008 .

[18]  T. Shiosaki,et al.  Growth and Electric Properties of Al-Substituted Langasite-Type La3Ta0.5Ga5.5O14 Crystals at High Temperature , 2006 .

[19]  S. Uda,et al.  The effect of growth atmosphere and Ir contamination on electric properties of La3Ta0.5Ga5.5O14 single crystal grown by the floating zone and Czochralski method , 2008 .

[20]  Thomas R. Shrout,et al.  Gadolinium calcium oxyborate piezoelectric single crystals for ultrahigh temperature (>1000 °C) applications , 2008 .

[21]  T. Shiosaki,et al.  Effect of aluminum substitution in La3Ga5SiO14 crystals on their structure and piezoelectricity , 2001 .

[22]  J. Kushibiki,et al.  Piezoelectric Properties of Ca3NbGa3Si2O14 Single Crystal , 2004 .

[23]  A. A. Ned,et al.  6H-SiC pressure sensor operation at 600/spl deg/C , 1998, 1998 Fourth International High Temperature Electronics Conference. HITEC (Cat. No.98EX145).

[24]  M. Dudley,et al.  Characterization of Growth Defects in CdZnTe Single Crystals by Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography , 1995 .

[25]  H. Takeda,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of Sr3TaGa3Si2O14 single crystals , 2000 .

[26]  Soeren Hirsch,et al.  Evaluation of langasite (La3Ga5SiO14) as a material for high temperature microsystems , 2006 .

[27]  H. Tuller,et al.  Defects and transport in langasite I: Acceptor-doped (La3Ga5SiO14) , 2006 .