Low‐Temperature Sintering of K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 Ceramics

The objective of this work was to lower the sintering temperature of K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 (KNN) without reducing its piezoelectric properties. The KNN was sintered using 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mass% of (K, Na)‐germanate. The influence of the novel sintering aid, based on alkaline germanate with a melting point near 700°C, on the sintering, density, and piezoelectric properties of KNN is presented. The alkaline‐germanate‐modified KNN ceramics reach up to 96% of theoretical density at sintering temperatures as low as 1000°C, which is approximately 100°C less than the sintering temperature of pure KNN. The relative dielectric permittivity (ɛ/ɛ 0 ) and losses (tanδ), measured at 10 kHz, the piezo d 33 coefficient, the electromechanical coupling and mechanical quality factors ( k p , k t , Q m ) of KNN modified with 1 mass% of alkaline germanate are 397, 0.02, 120 pC/N, 0.40, 0.44, and 77, respectively. These values are comparable to the best values obtained for KNN ceramics sintered above 1100°C.