Piezoelectric characterization and thermal stability of a high-performance {alpha}-quartz-type material, gallium arsenate

• Published in: Journal of applied physics 2005-04, Vol.97 (7)
• Main Authors: Cambon, Olivier, Haines, Julien, Fraysse, Guillaume, Detaint, Jacques, Capelle, Bernard, Lee, Arie van der, Laboratoire de Mineralogie et de Cristallographie de Paris, Universite Paris VI, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, Institut Europeen des Membranes de Montpellier, Unite Mixte de Recherche-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ARSENATES; GALLIUM COMPOUNDS; MATERIALS SCIENCE; MONOCRYSTALS; PIEZOELECTRICITY; POWDERS; QUARTZ; TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE; TEMPERATURE RANGE 1000-4000 K; THERMAL EXPANSION; THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS; X-RAY DIFFRACTION
• ISSN: 0021-8979; 1089-7550
• DOI: 10.1063/1.1874293

Piezoelectric measurements were performed on large single crystals (8 mm along the c direction) of an {alpha}-quartz-type piezoelectric material, gallium arsenate, GaAsO{sub 4}, which allow us to extend the structure-property relationships in the {alpha}-quartz-type materials. These first measurements on Y-rotated-cut plates have shown that gallium arsenate is the highest-performance piezoelectric material of this group. As compared to the coupling coefficients of the other materials with the same structure (k{sub SiO{sub 2}}=8%, k{sub AlPO{sub 4}}=11%, and k{sub GaPO{sub 4}}=16%), gallium arsenate exhibits the highest piezoelectric coupling coefficient of about 22%, as has been predicted by the structure-property relationships. Moreover, from these piezoelectric measurements, the C{sub 66}{sup '} elastic constant was determined and compared with elastic constants in quartz-type materials. The proposed value for the cut angle of the AT plane in GaAsO{sub 4} is -6.3 deg. . In order to extend the previous thermal stability results, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and x-ray diffraction have been carried out on GaAsO{sub 4} powder at high temperatures. It has been shown that GaAsO{sub 4} is stable up to 1030 deg. C. The thermal-expansion coefficient of GaAsO{sub 4} is 4.0x10{sup -5} K{sup -1}. The thermal expansion of the predicted AT plane (Y-6.3 deg. ) in GaAsO{sub 4} is shown to be similar to that of the other materials. Finally, it is demonstrated that the intertetrahedral bridging angle {theta} (A-O-B) of GaAsO{sub 4} is the most stable in {alpha}-quartz materials, which enables one to predict that GaAsO{sub 4} should retain high piezoelectric performances up to 925 deg. C.