• 한국재료학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.205-210
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• 2019

$Pb(Zr,Ti)O_3$ (PZT) is used for the various piezoelectric devices owing to its high piezoelectric properties. However, lead (Pb), which is contained in PZT, causes various environment contaminations. $(K,Na)NbO_3$ (NKN) is the most well-known candidate for a lead-free composition to replace PZT. A single crystal has excellent piezoelectric-properties and its properties can be changed by changing the orientation direction. It is hard to fabricate a NKN single crystal due to the sodium and potassium. Thus, $(Na,K)NbO_3-Ba(Cu,Nb)O_3$ (NKN-BCuN) is chosen to fabricate the single crystal with relative ease. NKN-BCuN pellets consist of two parts, yellow single crystals and gray poly-crystals that contain copper. The area that has a large amount of copper particles may melt at low temperature but not the other areas. The liquid phase may be responsible for the abnormal grain growth in NKN-BCuN ceramics. The dielectric constant and tan ${\delta}$ are measured to be 684 and 0.036 at 1 kHz in NKN-BCuN, respectively. The coercive field and remnant polarization are 14 kV/cm and $20{\mu}C/cm^2$.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제30권7호
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• pp.343-349
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• 2020

NKN [(Na,K)NbO₃] is a candidate lead-free piezoelectric material to replace PZT [Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃]. A single crystal has excellent piezoelectric-properties and its properties are dependent of the crystal orientation direction. However, it is hard to fabricate a single crystal with stoichiometrically stable composition due to volatilization of sodium during the growth process. To solve this problem, a solid solution composition is designed (Na,K)NbO₃-Ba(Cu,Nb)O₃ and solid state grain growth is studied for a sizable single crystal. Ceramic powders of (Na,K)NbO₃-M(Cu,Nb)O₃ (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) are synthesized and grain growth behavior is investigated for different temperatures and times. Average normal grain sizes of individual specimens, which are heat-treated at 1,125 ℃ for 10 h, are 6.9, 2.8, and 1.6 ㎛ for M = Ca, Sr, and Ba, respectively. Depending on M, the distortion of NKN structure can be altered. XRD results show that (NKN-CaCuN: shrunken orthorhombic; NKN-SrCuN: orthorhombic; NKN-BaCuN: cubic). For the sample heat-treated at 1,125 ℃ for 10 h, the maximum grain sizes of individual specimens are measured as 40, 5, and 4,000 ㎛ for M = Ca, Sr, and Ba, respectively. This abnormal grain size is related to the partial melting temperature (NKN-CaCuN: 960 ℃; NKN-SrCuN: 971 ℃; NKN-BaCuN: 945 ℃).