Electrical Properties of Textured (Bi1/2K1/2)TiO3–BaTiO3 Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics

Abstract

The electrical properties of (1-x)(Bi1/2K1/2)TiO3–xBaTiO3 (BKT–BT100x) ceramics prepared by an ordinary solid-state reaction and a reactive templated grain growth (RTGG) method using platelike Bi4Ti3O12 particles as a template were investigated. The degree of orientation, F, which was determined by the Lotgering method using an X-ray diffraction pattern, achieved ≈83% in the textured BKT–BT10 ceramic. A textured BKT–BT10 ceramic with a homogeneous microstructure was obtained after a long sintering time. The field-induced strains and piezoelectric properties of the BKT–BT10 ceramic were improved by improving grain orientation. In particular, the piezoelectric strain constant, d33, and the normalized strain, d33*, of the textured BKT–BT10 ceramic in the direction parallel (∥) to the tape stacking direction were 121 pC/N and 211 pm/V (at 80 kV/cm), respectively.