Improved Extraction of Second-Order Material Constants for Current Generation Y-Grown La₃Ga5.5Nb0.5O₁₄ (LGN) Crystal

With higher demand for sensor development, piezoelectric materials with advanced performance and wide availability draw more attention today. Accurate second-order material constants are necessary for modeling and mechanical design of sensors that make use of langanite (La
₃
Ga
_5.5
Nb
_0.5
O
₁₄
, LGN) crystals. We report here on room temperature LGN bulk acoustic wave (BAW) velocities obtained with reduced uncertainties using ultrasound measurements and taking advantage of the cross correlation signal processing technique, and a full set of LGN material constants extracted from the BAW velocity results. Our results compare favorably with prior results assessed as using a reliable measurement technique, and differ in expected fashion from other results based on techniques that do not address a known weakness in the measurement technique.