Investigations on electric properties and domain structures of Nd-doped 0.70Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.30PbTiO3 relaxor ferroelectric ceramics with high piezoelectric properties

Although rare earth neodymium (Nd) doping is common in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) single crystals, it is rarely reported in PMN–PT ceramics. To explore the effect of Nd doping on PMN–PT ceramics, PMN–30PT:xNd3+ (x = 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%) relaxor ferroelectric ceramics were fabricated using a solid-state method via two-step sintering. An enhanced piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) of ∼870 pC/N and a high piezoelectric strain coefficient (d33*) of ∼1025 pm/V were achieved for x = 2%. Through Rayleigh analysis of polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops under small electric fields, it was found that the dielectric property was mainly influenced by the intrinsic contribution (local lattice distortion). Furthermore, by investigating domain configurations, high piezoelectric properties were found to be associated with the domain size reduction and local structural heterogeneity. The results indicate that the PMN–30PT:xNd3+ ceramics is a promising material for electronic devices, and that rare earth Nd doping is an efficient strategy for improving the electronic performance of Pb-based relaxor ferroelectrics.