Influence of the A/B nonstoichiometry, composition modifiers, and preparation methods on properties of Li- and Ta-modified (K,Na)NbO3 ceramics

Abstract

Properties of Li- and Ta- modified (K,Na)NbO3 piezoceramics with the base composition near the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase boundary have been investigated with respect to variation of temperature, stoichiometry, compositional homogeneity, atmosphere of thermal treatment, and dopants (Ba, Mn). Although the influence of the most of the abovementioned factors has already been reported in the literature, the paper focuses on several aspects of the composition—property relationships that still remain controversial or poorly elucidated. In particular, we show that improvement of compositional homogeniety in these ceramics emphasizes the instability of piezoelectric response with respect to variation of temperature in the vicinity of the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transition. Ba dopant is shown to suppress conductivity in ceramics sintered in air, though it makes conductivity more sensitive to variation of the oxygen partial pressure. Mn dopant is shown to suppress conductivity and strongly reduce the influence of the oxygen partial pressure on conductivity of the ceramics. Finally, we show that chemical modifications to the ceramic composition, such as Mn dopant or variation of nonstoichiometry affect the piezoelectric response mainly by the shift of the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transition temperature.