Enhanced temperature stability in the R-T phase boundary with dominating intrinsic contribution.

In this study, 0.96KNNSx-0.01SZ-0.03BNZ ceramics (x = 0-0.08) were used as examples to illustrate the effects of phase boundaries on strain property and temperature stability. The addition of Sb5+ resulted in a rhombohedral-tetragonal (R-T) phase boundary at x = 0.05-0.07, as confirmed by temperature-dependent Raman spectra. In the R-T region, an improved piezoelectric constant (d33 = 390-440 pC N-1) and high unipolar strain (Suni = 0.14-0.15%) were observed due to the dominating intrinsic contribution. More importantly, a favorable temperature stability of Suni was observed in the ceramics with x = 0.05; for example, there was a slight variation of +5% to -13% when the temperature was increased from 20 °C to 180 °C. Through systematic investigations of composition and temperature-dependent strain, methods to improve Suni and consolidate its temperature stability in KNN-based ceramics were subsequently suggested. We believe that this study can promote the understanding and design of KNN-based ceramics with high strain and favorable temperature stability.