Mechanisms of Texture Development in Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics with Perovskite Structure Made by the Templated Grain Growth Process

The mechanisms of texture development were examined for BaTiO(3) and a (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Ta)O(3) solid solution made by the templated grain growth method, and compared with the mechanism in Bi(0.5)(Na,K)(0.5)TiO(3). The dominant mechanism was different in each material; grain boundary migration in BaTiO(3), solid state spreading in Bi(0.5)(Na,K)(0.5)TiO(3), and abnormal grain growth in the (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Ta)O(3) solid solution. The factor determining the dominant mechanism is the degree of smoothness of surface structure at an atomic level.