The objective of this review is to focus on the processing of ceramics based on sodium potassium niobate(K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO3)as promising candidates for lead-free piezoelectrics.In the first part the review addresses the synthesis of the perovskite solid solution as well as the issue of chemical homogeneity for pure and chemically modified K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO3.The second part covers the sintering and typically encountered bimodal microstructure of K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO3,possible methods of controlling the grain growth and template-assisted grain growth resulting in alkaline niobate single crystals.
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