• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 2012

Piezoelectric langasite crystals have superior properties such as high temperature performance and high quality Q and can be applied in combustion pressure sensors and surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters. Crystal growth, crystal structure and properties of langasite group are reviewed, and the mechanism of piezoelectricity of langasite is presented based on the crystal structure and deformation under high pressure. Finally, for the discovery of new piezoelectric materials, this paper presents the role of the framework, and recommends the search of framework crystal structure, because the characteristic of the mechanism exists on the framework of the crystal structure.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2012

As langasite $A_3BC_3D_2O_{14}$ compounds with piezoelectric properties exhibit no phase transition up to the melting point of 1,400-$1,500^{\circ}C$, many high temperature applications are expected for the SAW filter, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, and so on, based on the digital transformation of wider bandwidth and higher-bit rates. It has a larger electromechanical coupling factor compared to quartz and also nearly the same temperature stability as quartz. The $La_3Ga_5SiO_{14}$ (LGS) crystal with the $Ca_3Ga_2Ge_4O_{14}$-type crystal structure was synthesized and the crystal structure was analyzed by Mill et al. It is also an important feature that the growth of the single crystal is easy. In the case of three-element compounds such as $[R_3]_A[Ga]_B[Ga_3]_C[GaSi]_DO_{14}$ (R=La, Pr and Nd), the piezoelectric constant increases with the ionic radius of R. In this study, crystal structures of four-element compounds such as $[A_3]_A[B]_B[Ga_3]_C[Si_2]_DO_{14}$ (A = Ca or Sr, B = Ta or Nb) are analyzed by a single crystal X-ray diffraction, and the mechanism and properties of the piezoelectricity depending on the species of cation was clarified based on the crystal structure.