Dielectric,piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of lanthanum-modified PZTFN ceramics

Specimens of Pb1-1.5xLax（Zr0.53 Ti0.47）1-y-zFeyNb2O3 （x = 0, 0.004, 0.008, 0.012, and 0.016, y = z = 0.01） （PZTFN） ceramics were synthesized by a semi-wet route. In the present study, the effect of La doping was investigated on the structural, microstructural, dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of the ceramics. The results show that, the tetragonal （space group P4mm） and rhombohedral （space group R3c） phases are observed to coexist in the sample at x = 0.012. Microstructural investigations of all the samples reveal that La doping inhibits grain growth. Doping of La into PZTFN improves the dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics. The hys- teresis loops of all specimens exhibit nonlinear behavior. The dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties show a maximum response atx 〉 0.012, which corresponds to the morphotropic phase boundary （MPB）.     

Synthesis and Piezoelectric Properties of Lead-free （ Bi0.5 Na0.5 ）1-x（BaaSrb）xTiO3 Ceramics

A new group of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics,（Bi0.5 Na0.5）1-x（BaaSrb）xTiO3（abbreviated as BNBST[100x-100a/100b],0〈x〈1,a＋b=1）,was synthesized.The ceramics were prepared by conventional ceramic sintering technique,and the ceramics with density of 95% of the theoretical one can be sintered without the atmosphere control during the sintering process.The results of the X-ray diffraction（XRD） data show that the ceramics possess a single perovskite phase.The measurements of dielectric and piezoelectric properties reveal that the ceramics provide relatively high piezoelectric charge constant d33 and high planar electromechanical coupling factor kp.For the BNBST6-95/5 ceramics,d33 is equal to 170pC/N,and kp is equal to 32.0%.The fabrication technique for these ceramics is conventional and stable.     

Effects of Sr2＋ substitution on the structural,dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of PZT-PMN ceramics

This study described the structural, dielectric, and piezoelectric behavior of Pb1-xSrx[（Zr0.52Ti0.48）0.95（Mn1/3Nb2/3）0.05]O3 ceramics （PSZT-PMN, x=0, 0.025, 0.050, and 0.075）, prepared by a semi-wet route. X-ray diffraction, dielectric, and piezoelectric investigations were carried out to analyze the crystal structure. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss were both calculated as the functions of temperature. The room-temperature dielectric constant reaches a maximum for a Sr2＋-modified PZT-PMN ceramic with an x value of 0.050, which corresponds to the morphotropic phase boundary （MPB）. Raman spectroscopy studies also confirm the existence of this MPB for x=0.050. The piezoelectric strain coefficients （d33） value shows a maximum response for this composition. In addition, the phase transition temperature decreases significantly when the Sr2＋concentration increases in the PZT-PMN ceramics.     

Dielectric properties of Pb (Zn_(1/3) Nb_(2/3)) O_3-PbZrO_3-PbTiO_3 solid solution near morphotropic phase boundary

The dielectric properties of Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbZrO3-PbTiO3(PZN-PZ-PT) system near the rhombohedral/tetragonal morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) are carefully studied in this paper. It is found that, for all samples, the curves around the temperatures of dielectric permittivity peak show the characteristics of diffuse phase transition. The change in PbZrO3/PbTiO3 ratio has much influence on the dielectric properties of the samples. The extent of diffuse phase transition increases with the increasing Zr/Ti ratio. The samples in rhombohedral region have typical diffuse phase transition in the temperature range measured. However, for the samples with tetragonal symmetry, a spontaneous normal ferroelectric-relaxor phase transition exists at temperature lower than that of permittivity peak. This normal ferroelectric-relaxor phase transition is confirmed by the experiment of thermally driven current . The analysis of TEM reveals that the samples in tetragonal region show a 90° macrodomain structure , while th     

Microstructure, crystalline phase and electrical properties of Li0.06（Na0.5K0.5）0.94Nb（1-2x/5）MgxO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

MgO-modified Li0.06(Na0.5K0.5)0.94NbO3(L6NKN) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized by normal sintering at a relatively low temperature of 1000°C.The crystalline phase,microstructure,and electrical properties of the ceramics were investigated with a special emphasis on the influence of MgO content.The addition of MgO effectively improves the sinterability of the L6NKN ceramics.X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the morphotropic phase boundary(MPB) separating orthorhombic and tetragonal ph...     

Structure and Electrical Properties of （Na0.5Bi0.5）0.94Ba0.06TiO3 Ceramicwith0.5wt% of MnO

The structure and electrical properties of （Na0.5Bi0.5）0.94Ba0.06TiO3 ceramic doped with 0.5 wt% of MnO were investigated in comparison with those of （Na0.5Bi0.5）0.94Ba0.06TiO3 ceramic. It was ascertained that the MnO addition did not cause remarkable change in crystal structure and microstructure. The MnO addition mainly displayed a hard effect on the electrical properties, an increase of coercive field （E） and mechanical quality factor （Qm） together with a decrease of dielectric constant （εr） and piezoelectric constant （d33）. An enhancement of electromechanical coupling factor （kp） with the MnO addition was obtained too. An essential relation between the piezoelectric properties and ferroelectric nature of the ceramics was detected. It was found that the piezoelectric properties of the ceramics highly depended on the corporative contribution of remanent polarization （Pt） and coercive field.     

Effect of Li content on the microstructure and properties of lead-free piezoelectric （K0.5Na0.5）1-xLixNbO3 ceramics prepared by SPS

Lead-free piezoelectric （K0.5sNa0.5）1-xLixNbO3 （x = 0at%-20at%） ceramics were synthesized by spark plasma sintering （SPS） at low temperature and the effects of LiNbO3 addition on its crystal structure and properties were also studied. When the Li content was less than 6at%, a single proveskite phase with the similar structure of （K0.5Na0.5）NbO3 was formed; and a secondary phase with K3Li2Nb5O15 structure was observed in the 6at% 〈 x 〈 20at% compositional range. Furthermore, LiNbO3 existed as the third phase when the Li content was higher than 8at%. The grain sizes increased from 200-500 nm to 5-8 μm when the K3Li2Nb5O15 and LiNbO3 like phases were formed. With increasing Li content, the relative density of the ceramics first decreased from 97% to 93% and then kept constant. The piezoelectric coefficient d33, dielectric constant, and planner electromechanical coupling factor exhibited a decreasing tendency with increasing Li content because of the decrease in density and the formation of the secondary phase such as K3Li2Nb5O15 and LiNbO3. The formation of dense microstructure with a single phase is necessary in improving the properties of the （K0.5Na0.5）1-xLixNbO3 ceramics.     

Microstructures and Electrical Properties of Bi_(0.5)-(Na_(1-x-y)K_xLi_y)_(0.5)TiO_3 Lead-free Piezoelectric Ceramics

The microstructures and electrical properties of Bi0.5(Na1-x-yKxLiy)0.5TiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were studied.These ceramics were prepared by conventional ceramic technique.XRD analysis reveals that the ceramics possess almost pure perovskite phase when y≤0.2.The SEM results show that,with more amounts of Li+,the crystalline grain growing speed is accelerated,and the sintering temperature can effectively be decreased.The measurements of piezoelectric properties indicate that the ceramics with relatively low amount of Li+ and high amount of K+ have comparatively large piezoelectricity.The dielectric measurements show that the ceramics have properties like relaxor ferroelectrics and diffuse phase transition(DPT) at Td and Tc,respectively.The results of ferroelectric measurements reveal the system has relatively higher remanent polarization Pr(27.6 μC/cm2) and lower coercive field Ec(37.5 kV/cm).     

Morphology and defect structures of novel relaxor ferroelectric single crystals Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3-PbTiO_3

High-performance relaxor ferroelectric single crystals Pb(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3-PbTiO_3 have been grown successfully by a modified Bridgman method. They have the size of 25×25×50mm~3 and are of pure perovskite phases with tetragonal or rhombohedral structures. Their {001} faces appear dominantly, which can be interpreted by the model of anionic coordination polyhedral growth units. Main macro defects observed under optical microscopes and SEM can be reduced or removed by improving growth parameters after understanding their formation mechanism. 71° or 109° macrodomains in rhombohedral PMNT 76/24 crystals and 90° macrodomains in tetragonal PMNT 65/35 crystals have been observed by optical microscopes. It has been found that the transition from microdomains to macrodomains can be induced by compositions. Both the imaging mechanism of non-180° domains and the relation between domain configurations and ferroelectric phase transition have been analyzed.     

Dielectric Properties of Ag（Nb1-xTax）O3 and Bi2O3 Doped Ag（Nb1-xTax）O3 Ceramics

Dielectric properties of Ag（Nb1-xTa）O3 and Bi2O3 doped Ag（Nb1-xTax）O3 solid solutions were investigated. The results show that with the increase of Ta content （x）, the sintering temperature increased, and the dielectric loss （tanδ） and the temperature coefficient （αc） decreased. Ag（Nb1-xa）O3 （x=0.4） ceramics sintered at 1 100℃ had the highest permittivity （516.8） and a lower tanδ （0.0021） at 1 MHz, and its temperature coefficient was about 191 ppm/℃. The sintering temperature of Ag（Nb1-xTa）O3 （x=0.4） was lowered by the addition of Bi2O3, and its dielectric properties were improved. Ag（Nb0.6Ta0.4）O3 ceramics with 2.5 wt% Bi203 addition presented the optimum dielectric properties （ε=566, tanδ= 0.0007 and αc≈0ppm/℃） （1 MHz）,     

Effect of Lead Contents on the Properties of PMSZT Piezoelectric Ceramics

The effects of Pb content on crystallographic phase, microstructure, electric-properties of PMSZT piezoelectric ceramics were studied. The crystallographic phase and microstructure of the ceramics were examined by using X-ray diffraction （XRD） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The experimental result shows that the samples consist of a mixture of tetragonal and rhombohedral phases in the range of lead contents x=0.95-1.06, grains grow up homogeneously and the minimum value of Curie temperature was obtained with x-=1.02. With Pb content x〈l.02 or x〉1.02, the Curie temperature moves towards a high temperature. A well-situated electric-properties of ET33/E0 （1660）, d33 （344pC/N）, Kp （0.684）, Qm （2350）,tan 3（0.0030） were obtained when lead content x=1.02.     

Effects of NaNbO3-Co2O3 Co-additive on the Properties of PZN-PZT Ceramics

NaNbO3-Co2O3 co-added PZN-PZT （PZCNNT） ceramics were prepared using conventional solid state reaction. The piezoelectric and dielectric properties were measured. The experimental results show that the addition of 0.3mo1% Co2O3 leads to low dielectric loss （tgδ） in PZCNNT ceramics and the proper addition of NaNbO3 not only improves piezoelectric properties but also decreases intensively dielectric loss and mechanical loss. The optimal ceramic having d33=310 pC/N, kp=0.59, εr=985, tgδ=0.0034, Qm=1380 was obtained.     

Dielectric Properties of （AgxNa1-x）（NbyTa1-y）O3 System Prepared by Liquid Method

The dielectric properties of （AgxNa1-x）（NbyTa1-y）O3 were investigated, and its dielectric loss and capacitance were measured. The dielectric properties of nanometer （AgxNa1-x）（NbyTa1-y）O3 ceramic prepared by liquid method were better than that by conventional solid method. The average grain size of the nanometer powder（34 nm） obtained by citrate-gel method was small near 500 nm and homogeneous and the microstructure was dense and uniform. In addition, the sintering temperature had a great effect on properties. The dielectric properties of resultant samples were as follows： ε〉500, tgδ〈6 10^-4, αc〈 10 ppm/℃, ρv〉1 012Ω·cm.     

Effect of doped Mn on piezoelectric properties of （Na0.5Bi0.5 ）0.92 Ba0.08 TiO3 lead-free ceramics

Piezoelectric ceramics (Na0.5Bi0.5)0.92Ba0.05TiO3 x%MnCO3(BNBT-Mn, x=0-1.6,mass fraction)were synthesized by conventional solid state reaction. The results show that when the addition of MnCO3 is 0-1.4%, BNBT-Mn ceramics exhibit a single-phase perovskite structure. With the increase of content of MnCO3, piezoelectric constant and electromechanical coupling factor increase rapidly when x is lower than 0.3. Then they both decrease when x is in the range of 0.3 and 1.6. When x=0.3, piezoelectric constant and electromechanical coupling factor reach the maximum value of 160 pC/N and 58.5% respectively, which can improve the temperature stability of BNBT-Mn.     

Remarkable Improvement of Ferroelectric Properties and Leakage Current in BiFeO_3 Thin Films by Nd Modification

Ferroelectric and leakage properties are important for ferroelectric applications. Pure and Nd-doped(x=0.05-0.20) BiFeO_3 thin films were fabricated by sol-gel method on FTO substrates. The phase structure, surface morphology, leakage current, ferroelectric properties, and optical properties of BiFeO_3-based thin films were investigated. The substitution of Nd~(3+) ions for the Bi~(3+) site converts the structure from rhombohedral to coexisting tetragonal and orthorhombic. Nd doping improves the crystallinity of BiFeO_3 thin films. The leakage current of Nd-doped BiFeO_3 decreases by two to three orders of magnitude compared with that of pure BiFeO_3. Among the samples, 15% Nd-doped BiFeO_3 exhibits the strongest ferroelectric polarization of 17.96 μC/cm~2. Furthermore, the absorption edges of Bi_(1-x)Nd_(x)FeO_3 thin films show a slight red-shift after Nd doping.     

Crystallization and Electrical Properties of （Ba0.4Pb0.3）Sr0.3TiO3 Thin Film by Pulsed Laser Deposition

（Ba0.4Pb0.3）Sr0.3TiO3 thin films were fabricated via pulsed laser deposition （PLD） technique on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate. The crystallization of the films was characterized by XRD and FSEM, and the experimental results suggested deposition parameters, especially the deposition temperature was the key factor in forming the perovskite structure. The dielectric properties of the film deposited with optimized parameters were studied by an Agilent 4294A impedance analyzer at 1 MHz. The dielectric constant was 772, and the loss tangent was 0.006. In addition, the well-shaped hysteresis loop also showed that the film had a well performance in ferroelectric. The saturated polarization P, remnant polarization Pr and coercive field E were about 4.6 μC/cm2, 2.5 μC/cm2 and 23 kV/cm （the coercive voltage is 0.7 V）, respectively. It is suggested the film should be a promising candidate for microwave applications and nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memories （NvFeRAMs）.     

Microstructural Probing of （1-x） GeS2- x Ga2S3 System Glasses By Raman Scattering

Roman scattering measurement of （ 1 - x ） GeS2-x Ga2S3 system glasses was conducted in order to understand the microstructural change caused by the addition of Ga2S3 . According to the change of Raman spectra with the addition of Ga2S3, two main structural transformations were deduced ： the gradual enhancement of ethane- like structural units S3 Ge- GeS3 （ 250 cm ^- 1） and S3 Ga- GaS3 （270 cm ^- 1 ） and the appearance of charge imbalanced units [ Ga2 S2 （ S1/2 ）4 ]^2- and [Ga（ S1/2 ）4 ]^- . And this change of structural aspect seems to give as a clue to understanding the cause of the increased rare-earth solubility.     

Grain-size-induced Relaxor Ferroelectric Phase Transition in SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ Nanoparticles

The transition from paraelectric phase to ferroelectric phase for SrBi2Ta2O9(SBT) nanoparticles has been investigated by high-temperature X-ray diffraction,temperature-dependent dielectric and specific heat measurements.The crystal structure of SBT nanoparticles at room temperature is orthogonal with an A21am symmetry.The high-temperature phase(>350 ℃) exhibits a tetragonal structure(I4/mmm).There are two anomalies in all samples of SBT nanoparticles from the dielectric and specific heat curves.The high-temperature anomaly is frequency-dependent,which is a typical characteristic of relaxor ferroelectric phase transition.However,the low-temperature anomaly is heating-rate dependent,which is related to structural relaxation.These two phase transitions are accompanied with the changes in local symmetry,which is related to disordered atoms that are induced by size effects in SBT nanoparticles.     

The Effect of Bi2O3 on the Structure and Microwave Dielectric Properties of Ba6-3xNd8＋2xTi18O54 System（x=2/3）

The structures and dielectric properties of Ba6-3xNd8＋2xTi18O54 system（x=2/3） doped with different contents of Bi2O3, whose final molecular formula is Ba6-3x（Nd1-yBiy）8＋2xTi18O54 were investigated. It is indicated that the dielectric constant increases greatly whereas Q value（f0=4 GHz） decreases with the increase of Bi2O3 content. However, the temperature coefficient could be controlled below 0±30×10^-6/℃ in the experiment. These phenomena are related to the appearance of a new phase, Bi4Ti3O12, which has high dielectric constant. Also, that Bi^3＋（0.13 nm） substitutes for Nd^3＋（0.099 5 nm） will increase the unit cell volume, which will lead to the enlargement of the octahedron B site occupied by Ti^4＋. So the spontaneous polarization of Ti^4＋ ions will be strengthened. Besides, Bi^3＋ will fill up some vacancies which Ba^2＋ or Nd^3＋ ions leave in two A1 sites and four A2 sites. More positive ions polarize, which also contributes to higher dielectric constant. The samples got with the optimium properties are sintered at 1 200 ℃ for 4 h, when y=0.25, ε≈110, Q≈5 400（f0=4 GHz）, TCC=-4.7×10^-6/℃; When y=0.3, ε≈120, Q≈5 000（f0=4 GHz）, TCC=-24×10^-6/℃.     

High permittivity and low dielectric loss analysis of lead free Sr1-xLax（Ti0.5Fe0.5）O3

The structural and electrical properties of lead free Srx-xLax（Tio.sFeo.5）O3 （SLTFO） prepared by standard solid state reaction technique were studied. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of a single-phase cubic perovskite structure. The compositional dependence of lattice constant, density and microstructural studies show that they vary significantly with La3＋ content. When measured at 10 kHz, all the compositions of SLTFO at room temperature exhibit a high permittivity （about 104） and low dielectric loss （about 10-3）. SLTFO also display minimum dielectric loss within the lower and higher limits of frequency, indicating that the samples are of good quality. It is concluded from the calculated ac conductivity that the conduction is due to mixed polarons hopping. The complex impedance plot exhibits a tendency of forming a single semicircular arc for all compositions, which implies a dominance of grain boundary resistance on the impedance. Impedance parameters were determined by fitting the experimental data with Cole-Cole empirical formula. The results of the present experiment indicate that the lead free SLTFO materials with higher permittivity and lower dielectric loss have possible practical applications.