Property measurements on piezoelectric single crystals and the implications for transducer design

Piezoelectric single crystals of lead magnesium niobate in solid solution with lead titanate have generated great interest in the Navy sonar community because of the potential they offer for enhanced transducer performance. Two material properties, in particular, make the piezoelectric single crystals unique; their high 33-mode coupling factor and their low short circuit Young's modulus. Measurements of the large signal electromechanical and mechanical properties on single crystal samples are presented in this paper. These measurements elucidate the behavior of piezoelectric single crystals, including the effect of bias field on the Young's modulus. The ramifications of the measured material properties on transducer design are also discussed.