Relationships between the crystal structural, microstructural characteristics, and electrical properties of the BaTiO3-based ferroelectric ceramics and the effects of oxide additives, Ca2+ contents, and preparation methods were investigated.
The eff...
Relationships between the crystal structural, microstructural characteristics, and electrical properties of the BaTiO3-based ferroelectric ceramics and the effects of oxide additives, Ca2+ contents, and preparation methods were investigated.
The effects of oxide additives (Yb2O3, CaCO3, MgO) on the crystal structure and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics were studied. Since the dielectric constant and capacitance of BaTiO3, which is used as a base material for a capacitor have been changed with temperature, the capacitance stability of BaTiO3 against temperature was controlled with an oxide additive. For the BaTiO3 with ABO3 structure, Yb2O3 as an amphiphilic material which could be substituted into both A- and B- sites, CaCO3 as a depressor of capacitance peaks for temperature, and MgO as shifter for phase transition temperature were selected. Pure BaTiO3 composition (BT), BaTiO3 with 1.0 mol% of Yb2O3 composition (Yb), BaTiO3 with 1.0 mol% of Yb2O3 and 1.0 mol% of MgO composition (YbMg), BaTiO3 with 1.0 mol% of Yb2O3 and 0.3 mol% of CaCO3 composition (YbCa), BaTiO3 with 1.0 mol% of MgO and 0.3 mol% of CaCO3 composition (Mg Ca) were sintered at 1350oC for 1h. All of the compositions except for the Yb and YbCa compositions showed the single phase of BaTiO3 with a perovskite structure. The composition of MgCa and YbMg, which (002) peak and (200) peak at 2θ =44˚~46˚ are merged without peak separation, showed lower tetragonality (c/a) than that of other compositions, and the composition of YbMg showed the lowest tetragonality (c/a) through the entire range of compositions. As a result of analyzing by Rietveld refinement based on the X-ray diffraction pattern, the compositions of YbMg, Yb, and YbCa with a larger unit cell volume than pure BT is due to the (Yb3+=0.868Å, Mg2+=0.720Å, Ca2+=1.340Å) ionic radius of the additive is larger than the ionic radius of Ti4+(=0.605Å). MgCa composition showed a smaller unit cell volume than pure BT due to the smaller ionic radius of Ca2+ (=1.340Å) than that of Ba2+ (=1.610Å).
Effects of tetragonality (c/a) and B-site bond valence on the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 with oxide additives (Yb2O3, CaCO3, MgO) were investigated. For the MgCa and YbMg compositions with no secondary phase, the composition YbMg showed a smaller dielectric constant (εr) than that of the composition MgCa due to the larger B-site bond valence and smaller tetragonality (c/a) than those of the composition YbMg. Pure BT and the YbMg composition showed similar B-site bond valence properties, but the dielectric constant of BT was larger than the composition YbMg. These results could be attributed that the length difference between the a- axis and the c-axis of the unit cell of BT was larger than that of YbMg. Temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of the composition YbMg which showed the smallest length difference between the a-axis and the c-axis of the unit cell met the X7R specification proposed by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA).
Crystal structural characteristics and electrical properties of (Ba0.7Sr0.3-xCax)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 (BSCTZ) (0≤x≤0.2) ceramics prepared by Citrate-gelation method were investigated as a function of Ca2+ contents. For the BSCTZ prepared by the solid-state reaction method, a high sintering temperature (1550oC) and a low breakdown voltage (BDV=2kV/mm) were reported. For the low sintering temperature and the improvement of breakdown voltage with control of grain size, BSCTZ ceramics were prepared by Citrate-gelation method. For BSCTZ ceramics prepared by Citrate-gelation method were sintered at 1300oC for 3h in air. Citrate-gelation method was employed to improve the breakdown voltage characteristics and to low sintering temperature by controlling the grain size. Single phase of BaTiO3 with a perovskite structure was shown in all compositions except for the x=0.20. From the X-ray diffraction patterns of sintered specimens with x=0.20 the secondary phase of CaTiO3 was detected for the specimens sintered at 1300oC for 3h, however single phase of BaTiO3 was confirmed for the specimens sintered at 1400oC for 3h. The crystal structure of compositions of the 0≤x≤0.15 sintered at 1300oC for 3 h and x=0.20 sintered at 1400oC for 3 h was analyzed by Rietveld refinement based on an X-ray diffraction pattern. With the increase of Ca2+ content, the unit cell volume was decreased due to the cation size effect which is smaller ionic radius of Ca2+ (=1.340Å) and Sr2+(=1.44Å) than that of Ba2+ (=1.610Å).
Dielectric properties of (Ba0.7Sr0.3-xCax)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 (BSCTZ) (0≤x≤0.2) ceramics prepared by Citrate-gelation method were investigated by the tetra- gonality (c/a) and B-site bond valance with Ca2+ contents. For the composition of x=0.05, the highest dielectric constant was obtained due to the smallest B-site bond valance which B-site ions can easily deviate from the center of the oxygen octahedron and cause polarization displacement. The tetragonality (c/a) tendency of sintered specimens with x=0.00 and x=0.10 agreed well with the dielectric constant tendency, however, the sintered specimens with x=0.15 and 0.20 showed large tetragonality (c/a) and small dielectric constant due to the large B-site bond valance. With the increase of Ca2+ content, the dielectric loss increased due to the decrease of grain size. BSCTZ (x=0.05) ceramics prepared by Citrate-gelation method and sintered at 1300oC for 3h showed the highest dielectric constant (εr= 20,350) and met the Y5V specification proposed by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA).
Electrical properties of (Ba0.7Sr0.3-xCax)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 (BSCTZ) (0≤x≤0.2) ceramics were investigated as a function of the preparation method. For the dielectric properties of CG_BSCTZ prepared by citrate-gelation method (CG) and SSR_BSCTZ prepared by solid-state reaction (SSR), the highest dielectric constant was obtained at x=0.05 in both SSR and CG, and the decreased tendency of the dielectric constant with the increase of Ca2+ contents was obtained for the sintered specimens of CG_BSCTZ and SSR_BSCTZ. For the sintered specimens prepared by both SSR and CG methods, the dielectric loss was increased with the increase of Ca2+ content due to the decrease of grain size which was confirmed through SEM observation. For the comparison of the breakdown voltage (BDV) of the sintered specimens prepared by CG_BSCTZ and SSR_BSCTZ, the breakdown voltage (BDV) of the sintered specimens prepared by CG_BSCTZ was higher than that of SSR_BSCTZ through the entire range of compositions (0≤x≤0.2). Especially, the breakdown voltage of the sintered specimens with x=0.05 prepared by CG_BSCTZ was three times higher than that prepared by SSR_BSCTZ. These results could be attributed that the Citrate-gelation method pro- vides nucleation for powder preparation in a liquid phase, and the sintered specimens showed a smaller grain size and a larger number of grain boundaries than those of the Soild-state reaction method, which was confirmed by the microstructure of SEM.