Low temperature performance of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3 single crystals mapped by metallic and superconducting thin films

Pulsed laser deposition was used for the preparation of thin meander shaped platinum strain gauges on piezoelectric single crystalline (001) Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.72Ti_0.28O₃ substrates to study in-situ the temperature dependence of the applied strain in thin films even for small samples. A strong decrease of the strain with temperature was revealed at constant electric fields with a plateau like behavior for temperatures in the range of 100 K. The electrical field induced strain leads to a shift in the super-conducting transition temperature of La_1.85Sr_0.15CuO₄ .A detailed study of the transition was used to prove a linear and reversible behavior of the strain with the applied electric field.