Alternating current poling conditions determination by orthogonal experimental design

Alternating current poling (ACP) has been proven to significantly improve the performance of relaxor-based perovskite ferroelectrics. However, there is still a lack of methods to scientifically optimize ACP conditions which has remarkable influence on the polarization effects. In this paper, the orthogonal experimental design (OED) is proposed to accomplish the optimization of ACP conditions with minimum experiments. Using this method, the optimal ACP conditions of Sm-doped PMN-PT rhombohedral single crystal were obtained, and giant piezoelectric coefficient d33 and relative dielectric permittivity εr/ε0 of 4520pC/N and 13290 were achieved, which is 24.5% and 29.5% higher than that under DCP. Because of the orthogonality, high efficiency and being user-friendly for individuals unfamiliar with the material mechanism, the proposed OED is expected to provide experimental instruction for ACP for all kinds of piezoelectric single crystal and ceramics.