US Patent 7838453 Ceramic powder and method for producing ceramic powder

A ceramic powder contains a principal component that is a perovskite-type complex oxide represented by the formula ANbO3 (A is at least one selected from alkali metal elements and contains 10 mole percent or more of K) and also contains 0.0001 mole or more of an element per mole of the principal component. The element is at least one selected from the group consisting of Yb, Y, In, Nd, Eu, Gd, Dy, Sm, Ho, Er, Tb, and Lu. The ceramic powder preferably further contains at least one selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, and Sn. This enables that a non-deliquescent alkali niobate-based ceramic powder is produced at a high yield.