Crystal Growth and Observation of the Ferroelectric Phase of PbZrO 3

High‐purity single crystals of PbZrO 3 suitable for electrical measurements were grown from solutions in the PbO‐ZrO 2 ‐PbF 2 ‐B 2 O 3 system. Dielectric, hysteresis‐loop, and optical measurements confirmed the existence of an intermediate ferroelectric (FE) form, previously observed only in ceramics, just below the transition temperature (T c #232°C). The temperature stability range of the FE phase, which cooling curve measurements show to vary from 12° to 26°C, appears to be related to crystal stoichiometry. The maximum value of spontaneous polarization is P 8 (max)#24 μC/cm 2 , assuming that the FE phase possesses rhombohedral symmetry.