Domain-orientation-controlled potassium niobate family piezoelectric materials with hydrothermal powders.

Abstract

Materials of the potassium niobate family, as lead-free piezoelectric materials, are expected to be alternative materials to Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) because of their good piezoelectric properties, high Curie temperature, and so on. In particular, single-crystal potassium niobate is a promising ferroelectric material as a surface acoustic substrate and for functional optical effects. It is, however, well known that single crystals are difficult to fabricate because of the instability caused by temperature, external stress, and other factors.