Inhomogeneity issues in the growth of Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-BaTiO3 single crystals

Abstract Lead-free piezoelectric single crystals of Na 1/2 Bi 1/2 TiO 3 –BaTiO 3 (NBT–BT) have been grown by flux and zone melting techniques. Growth was carried out by employing two flux systems: (a) Bi 2 O 3 and (b) Bi 2 O 3 and Na 2 CO 3 fluxes. In order to avoid the serious problem of composition variations suffered in flux growth technique, metal strip heated zone melting (MSHZM) technique was employed for the growth of NBT–BT crystals. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis was carried out for the grown crystals and the composition variations in the crystals obtained from flux and MSHZM techniques were analyzed. Results reveal that the composition variations suffered in the flux-grown crystals have been avoided by adopting the zone melting technique.