Fundamental limitation to the magnitude of piezoelectric response of ⟨001⟩pc textured K0.5Na0.5NbO3 ceramic

< 001 >(pc) textured K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) ceramic was found to exhibit a 65% improvement in the longitudinal piezoelectric response as compared to its random counterpart. Piezoresponse force microscopy study revealed the existence of larger 180 degrees and non-180 degrees domains for textured ceramic as compared to the random ceramic. Improvement in piezoresponse by the development of < 001 >(pc) texture is discussed in terms of the crystallographic nature of KNN and domain morphology. A comparative analysis performed with a rhombohedral composition suggested that the improvement in longitudinal piezoresponse of polycrystalline ceramics by the development of < 001 >(pc) texture is determined by the crystal structure. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.