• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2016

$(Bi_{1/2}Na_{1/2})_{0.94}Ba_{0.06}(Ti_{1-x}Nb_x)O_3$ (BNBTxNb) ceramics were investigated in terms of the crystal structure as well as the ferroelectric, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties. While little change was observed in the microstructure except for a slight decrease in the average grain size, a significant change was noticed in the temperature dependence of dielectric and piezoelectric properties. It was shown that the property changes are closely related to the downward shift in the position of the ferroelectric-to-relaxor transition temperature with increasing amount of Nb doping. A special emphasis is put on the fact that Nb doping is so effective at decreasing the ferroelectric-to-relaxor transition temperature that even at no more than 2 at.% Nb addition, the transition temperature was already brought down slightly below room temperature, resulting in the birth of a large strain at 0.46 %, equivalent to $S_{max}/E_{max}=767pm/V$.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.198-203
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• 2012

In this study, $[Li_{0.04}(Na_{0.5}K_{0.5})_{0.96}](Nb_{0.86}Ta_{0.10}Sb_{0.04})O_3+xSrO$ (x=0, 0.0025, 0.005, 0.0075) ceramics were synthesized by the conventional mixed oxide method. The X-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated that ceramics possessed single perovskite structure. The SEM images indicate that microstructure can be obviously affected by a small amount of added SrO. The phase transition temperature tetragonal-cubic($T_c$) and orthorhombic-tetragonal($T_{o-t}$) shifts downward and upward with the increase of Sr addition, respectively. The excellent piezoelectric properties of $d_{33}=170[pC/N]$, $k_p=0.37$, $Q_m=64.12$, $T_{o-t}=153^{\circ}C$ and $T_c=370^{\circ}C$ were obtained from the 0.25 mol% Sr added ceramics sintered at $1,120^{\circ}C$ for 1 h.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.317-321
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• 2015

The effects of Nb doping on the crystal structure, microstructure, and dielectric ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of $(Bi_{0.5}Na_{0.5})_{0.935}Ba_{0.065}Ti_{(1-x)}Nb_xO_3-0.01SrZrO_3$ (BNBTNb-SZ, with ${\chi}=0$, 0.01 and 0.02) ceramics have been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all ceramics have a pure perovskite structure with tetragonal symmetry. The grain size of the ceramics slightly decreased and a change in grain morphology from square to spherical shape was observed in the Nb-doped samples. The maximum dielectric constant temperature ($T_m$) increases with increasing amount of Nb; however, ferroelectric-relaxor transition temperature ($T_{F-R}$) and maximum dielectric constant (${\varepsilon}_m$) values decrease gradually. Nb addition disrupted the polarization hysteresis loops of the BNBT-SZ ceramics by leading a reduction in the remnant polarization coercive field and piezoelectric constant.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.194-199
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• 2011

In this study, non-stoichiometric 1-x$[(K_{0.5}Na_{0.5})_{0.97}(Nb_{0.96}Sb_{0.04})O_3]$ + x $CeMnO_3$ + 0.8 mol%CuO + 0.2 wt% $Ag_2O$ (x=0, 0.005) ceramics were prepared by a conventional mixed oxide and carbonate method, their dielectric and piezoelectric properties were investigated with the variations of sintering temperature. As $CeMnO_3$ substitution incereased, the density, piezoelectric constant($d_{33}$) and dielectric constant($\varepsilon_r$) were increased and the mechanical quality factor(Qm) was decreased. At the sintering temperature of $1100^{\circ}C$, the density, electromechanical coupling factor($k_p$), dielectric constant($\varepsilon_r$) and piezoelectric constant($d_{33}$) of 0.5mol% $CeMnO_3$ specimen showed the optimun values of 4.475 $g/cm^2$, 0.437, 552 and 166 pC/N, respectively. However, the mechanical quality factor($Q_m$) showed the minimum value of 380.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2010

$(Na_{0.5}K_{0.5})NbO_3$ (NKN) ceramic with 1.5 mol% CuO added (NKNC) was well sintered even at a low temperature of $900^{\circ}C$ with the addition of ZnO. Most of the ZnO reacted with the CuO and formed the liquid phase that assisted the densification of the specimens at $900^{\circ}C$. A few $Zn^{2+}$ ions entered the matrix of the specimens and increased the coercive field ($E_c$) and $Q_m$ values of the specimens. High-piezoelectric properties of $k_p=0.37$, $Q_m=755$, and ${\varepsilon}_3\;^T/{\varepsilon}_0=327$ were obtained from the NKNC ceramics containing 1.0 mol% ZnO sintered at $900^{\circ}C$ for 2 h.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.116-124
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of 0.96(K_0.456Na_0.536)Nb_0.95Sb_0.05-0.04Bi_0.5(Na_0.82K_0.18)_0.5ZrO₃ (KNNS-BNKZ) ceramics based on one-step and two-step sintering processes. One-step sintering led to significant abnormal grain (AG) growth at temperatures above 1,085 ℃. With increasing sintering temperature, piezoelectric and dielectric properties were enhanced, resulting in a high d₃₃ = 506 pC/N for one-step specimen sintered at 1,100 ℃ (one-step 1,100 ℃ specimen). However, for one-step 1,115 ℃ specimen, a slight decrease in d₃₃ was observed, emphasizing the importance of a high tetragonal (T) phase fraction for superior piezoelectric properties. Achieving a relative density above 84 % for samples sintered by the one-step sintering process was challenging. Conversely, two-step sintering significantly improved the relative density of KNNS-BNKZ ceramics up to 96 %, attributed to the control of AG nucleation in the first step and grain growth rate control in the second step. The quantity of AG nucleation was affected by the duration of the first step, determining the final microstructure. Despite having a lower T phase fraction than that of the one-step 1,100 ℃ specimen, the two-step specimen exhibited higher piezoelectric coefficients (d₃₃ = 574 pC/N and k_p = 0.5) than those of the one-step 1,100 ℃ specimen due to its higher relative density. Performance evaluation of magnetoelectric composite devices composed of one-step and two-step specimens showed that despite having a higher g₃₃, the magnetoelectric composite with the one-step 1,100 ℃ specimen exhibited the lowest magnetoelectric voltage coefficient, due to its lowest k_p. This study highlights the essential role of phase fraction and relative density in enhancing the performance of piezoelectric materials and devices, showcasing the effectiveness of the two-step sintering process for controlling the microstructure of ceramic materials containing volatile elements.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.205-205
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• 2008

PZT 세라믹은 우수한 유전 및 압전특성을 갖고 있어 변압기, 센서 및 엑츄에이터 등에 널리 응용되고 있다. 그러나, 우수한 특성에도 불구하고 PZT세라믹스의 소결시 PbO의 높은 유독성 및 휘발로 인하여 환경오염을 야기 시킨다. 그러므로 PbO로 구성된 세라믹을 대체하기 위한 우수한 압전특성을 가진 비납계 세라믹스 개발이 연구의 주류를 이루고 있다. 그 중 비납계 NKN와 BZT는 대체물질로 많이 관심을 받고 있다. 이는 일반적인 NKN조성은 우수한 압전성과 높은 큐리온도를 가지고 있을 뿐만 아니라, BZT조성의 Zr성분이 큐리온도를 낮추거나 유전특성을 졸게 하여 유전율 곡선을 완화하게 하는 특징이 있다. 하지만 NKN은 $1140^{\circ}C$이상의 소결온도에서 K의 휘발특성으로 인해 소성 후에도 주변의 수분을 흡수하는 조해성이 발생하는 문제가 발생한다. 그래서 본 연구에서는 낮은 온도에서 NKN계 세라믹스의 밀도를 증가시킬 뿐만 아니라, 우수한 유전 및 압전특성을 갖는 세라믹스를 제조하고자 비납계 $0.94(K_{0.5}Na_{0.5})NbO_3-0.06Ba(Zr_{0.05}Ti_{0.95})O_3$ (NKN-BZT)의 조성을 사용하였고 소결조제로는 $MnO_2$, NiO, $Bi_2O_3$, ZnO, $Li_2CO_3$, CuO등을 변화주어 유전 및 압전 특성을 알아보았다.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.702-710
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• 2012

Eco-friendly $(Na,K)NbO_3$ (NKN)-based piezoelectric ceramic materials were fabricated by conventional ceramic method for shear mode piezoelectric energy harvesting application. $NKN-LiTaO_3$ (LT) based compositions were adopted for the high $d_{15}{\times}g_{15}$ which is proportional to harvested energy density. The composition $0.935(Na_{0.535}K_{0.485})NbO_3-0.065LiTaO_3$ was found to be lie on the boundary of tetragonal and orthorhombic phases. With reducing Ta content, the dielectric constant decreased gradually while maintaining high $d_{15}$, which resulted in increased $d_{15}{\times}g_{15}$. The composition $0.935(Na_{0.535}K_{0.485})NbO_3-0.065Li(Nb_{0.990}Ta_{0.010})O_3$ was found to possess excellent piezoelectric and electromechanical properties ($d_{15}{\times}g_{15}=29\;pm^2/N$, $d_{15}$ = 417 pC/N, $k_{15}$ = 0.55), and high curie temperature ($T_c=455^{\circ}C$).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.7
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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 ℃).

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 2016

KNN-based ceramics modified with small amounts of $Bi_4Zr_3O_{12}$ (BiZ) has been synthesized using high-throughput experimentation (HTE). The results from X-ray diffraction show that for samples with base composition $(K_{0.5}Na_{0.5})NbO_3$ (KNN), the phase present changes from orthorhombic to pseudo-cubic with more than 0.2 mol% BiZ addition; for samples with base composition $(K_{0.48}Na_{0.48}Li_{0.04})(Nb_{0.9}Ta_{0.1})O_3$ (KNNLT), the phase present changes from a mixture of orthorhombic and tetragonal symmetry to pseudo-cubic with more than 0.4 mol % while for samples with base composition $(K_{0.48}Na_{0.48}Li_{0.04})(Nb_{0.86}Ta_{0.1}Sb_{0.04})O_3$ (KNNLST), the phase present is tetragonal with <0.3 mol% BiZ addition and transforms to pseudo-cubic with more dopant addition. The microstructures of the samples show that addition of BiZ decreases the average grain size and increases the volume of pores at the grain boundaries. The values of dielectric constant for KNN and KNNLT compositions increase slightly with BiZ addition while that for KNNLST decreases gradually with BiZ addition. The dielectric loss values are between 0.02 and 0.04 for KNNLT and KNNLST compositions while they are ~ 0.05 for KNN samples. The resistivity values increases with BiZ addition and values in the range of $10^{10}{\Omega}cm$ and $10^{12}{\Omega}cm$ are obtained. The piezoelectric charge coefficient ($d{^*}_{33}$) is highest for KNNLST samples and decreases gradually from ~400 pm/V to ~100 pm/V with BiZ addition.