High strain in (K,Na)NbO3-based lead-free piezoceramics.

A high strain is important for practical applications of piezoelectric actuators. Here we reported a high strain in the (K,Na)NbO3 -based ceramics by doping alkaline earths or transition metals. The ceramics possess a high strain (∼0.29%) as well as a large converse piezoelectric coefficient (d33*) up to 688 pm/V, which almost matches that of PZT4 ceramics. The obtained d33* is high for nontextured (K,Na)NbO3-based ceramics. In addition, a higher d33 value (340-407 pC/N) was also attained in the ceramics. Enhanced d33 and d33* values of this work should be attributed to the multiphase coexistence's effect induced by alkaline earths or transition metals. We believe that our research can benefit the developments of (K,Na)NbO3 ceramics and widen their applications range.