Enhanced Soft Character of Crystallographically Textured Mn-Doped Binary 0.675[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3]-0.325[PbTiO3] Ceramics

Lead magnesium niobate (PMN)-lead titanate (PT) solid solution with composition 0.675 PMN-0.325PT has been obtained with manganese (Mn) doping in various ratios. The effect of Mn on the electrical properties was examined in detail using dry-pressed samples produced from PMN-PT powders synthesized by a solid-state calcination route. Based on the results, 0.7mol.% was selected as the optimum Mn doping ratio to enhance the soft properties and figure of merit (FOM). Random and textured PMN-PT plates for use in energy harvesting applications were then prepared by a tape-casting method. Samples were textured using 1vol.% plate-like barium titanate (BaTiO3, BT) template. The calculated FOM of random samples fabricated by tape-casting increased from 8469x10(-15)m(2)/N to 11,273x10(-15)m(2)/N with Mn doping, in parallel with observations in dry-pressed samples. The FOM of textured PMN-PT was found to be as high as approximate to 25,999x10(-15)m(2)/N and increased to approximate to 31,720x10(-15)m(2)/N for textured Mn-doped PMN-PT. The Curie temperature (T-c) of samples obtained by tape-casting was measured to be 160 degrees C. The electromechanical properties of the samples were also studied in detail, and property matrices calculated using resonance methods are reported for all compositions.