Crystal growth and piezoelectricity of BaTiO3–CaTiO3 solid solution

We report the crystal growth and piezoelectric properties of (1−x)BaTiO3–xCaTiO3. It is found that the perovskite structure is facilitated by incorporating small Ca into Ba site and single crystals for a wide composition range of 0.02⩽x⩽0.34 can be grown by the floating zone technique with a high rate of 20mm∕h. High values of piezoelectric coefficient (d33=180–310pC∕N) have been demonstrated for the single crystals as well as the biphasic polycrystals with composition close to the solid solution limit. These findings may stimulate further interests in the developments of lead-free piezoelectrics or optical devices.