Ceramics based on (Na_1/2B_1/2)TiO₃ are promising candidates for actuator applications because of large strains generated by an electric field-induced phase transition. For example, the (1−x)(Na_1/2Bi_1/2)TiO₃-xSrTiO₃ system exhibits a morphotropic phase boundary at x = 0.2–0.3, leading to high values of inverse piezoelectric constant d*₃₃, which can be further improved by the use of single crystals. In our previous work, single crystals of (Na_1/2B_1/2)TiO₃-SrTiO₃ and (Na_1/2B_1/2)TiO₃-CaTiO₃ were grown by the solid state crystal growth technique. Growth in the (Na_1/2B_1/2)TiO₃-SrTiO₃ system was sluggish whereas the (Na_1/2B_1/2)TiO₃-CaTiO₃ single crystals grew well. In the present work, 0.8(Na_1/2Bi_1/2)TiO₃-0.2(Sr_1−xCa_x)TiO₃ single crystals (with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) were produced by the solid state crystal growth technique in an attempt to improve crystal growth rate. The dependence of mean matrix grain size, single crystal growth distance, and electrical properties on the Ca concentration was investigated in detail. These investigations indicated that at x = 0.3 the matrix grain growth was suppressed and the driving force for single crystal growth was enhanced. Replacing Sr with Ca increased the shoulder temperature T_s and temperature of maximum relative permittivity T_max, causing a decrease in inverse piezoelectric properties and a change from normal to incipient ferroelectric behavior.

由于电场诱导相变产生的大应变，基于 (Na _1/2 B _1/2 )TiO _{3 的}陶瓷是致动器应用的有希望的候选者。例如，(1− x )(Na _1/2 Bi _1/2 )TiO ₃ - x SrTiO ₃系统在x = 0.2–0.3处表现出同形相界，导致逆压电常数d* _{33 的}值很高，这可以通过使用单晶进一步改善。在我们之前的工作中，单晶 (Na _1/2 B _1/2 )TiO ₃ -SrTiO₃和(Na _1/2 B _1/2 )TiO ₃ -CaTiO ₃通过固态晶体生长技术生长。(Na _1/2 B _1/2 )TiO ₃ -SrTiO ₃体系的生长缓慢，而(Na _1/2 B _1/2 )TiO ₃ -CaTiO ₃单晶生长良好。在目前的工作中，0.8(Na _1/2 Bi _1/2 )TiO ₃ -0.2(Sr _{1− x} Ca _x )TiO ₃单晶（x= 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4)是通过固态晶体生长技术产生的，以试图提高晶体生长速度。详细研究了平均基体晶粒尺寸、单晶生长距离和电性能对 Ca 浓度的依赖性。这些研究表明，在x = 0.3 时，基体晶粒生长受到抑制，单晶生长的驱动力增强。用 Ca 代替 Sr 增加了肩部温度T _s和最大相对介电常数T _{max 的}温度，导致逆压电特性降低，并从正常到初始铁电行为的变化。