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° and non-180° 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.