Phase transitional behavior in K0.5Na0.5NbO3-LiTaO3 ceramics

In addition to x-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum measurements provide direct evidence of the tetragonal and orthorhombic phases coexistence in lead-free ceramics (1-x)K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN)-xLiTaO(3) when x equals 5 mol %. This is caused by the phase transition temperature between tetragonal and orthorhombic decreasing to around room temperature due to the Li and Ta doping in KNN, and not by constituting a region of morphotropic phase boundary as presented by most published papers. The results indicate that although this kind of ceramic displays good properties, it needs further study to verify if it is suitable to be used in a varying temperature environment. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.