Electro-elastic features of Nd-doped YAl3(BO3)4 single crystal

Abstract

Nd-doped YAl₃(BO₃)₄ (NYAB) is a multifunctional crystal material with laser, nonlinear optical, and piezoelectric performances. In this study, the dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric properties of an 11.8 mol% doped NYAB crystal were evaluated using impedance and ultrasonic pulse-echo methods. The NYAB crystal exhibited electro-elastic properties comparable to those of α-SiO₂, GaPO₄, and AlPO₄ crystals. In addition, the structural distortions and dipole moment of the NYAB crystal were studied, where the AlO₆ octahedron exhibited a relatively larger polarization and contributed to the piezoelectric properties of the NYAB crystal. Moreover, the temperature-dependent behaviors of the NYAB crystal were investigated. The NYAB crystal exhibited a high mechanical quality factor, Q_m, (12 000 at 25 °C and 4400 at 450 °C), low dielectric loss (0.3% at 25 °C and 0.5% at 450 °C), and good temperature stability of electro-elastic properties (Ts₁₁¹ = 6.9 ppm °C⁻¹; Td₁₄¹ = 1.7 ppm °C⁻¹) in the temperature range of 25–450 °C.