Relaxor Behaviour and Ferroelectric Properties of （Li0.12Na0.88） （Nb0.9-xWa0.10Sbx）O3 Lead-Free Ceramics

New lead-free ceramics （Lio.12Na0.88） （Nbo.9-x Ta0.10 Sbx） 03 （0.01 × 0.06） are synthesized by solid-state reaction method. The dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of the ceramics are studied. The dielectric constant dependence with temperature and frequency of the ceramic specimen with x = 0.04 shows typical characteristics of relaxor ferroelectrics, and the Vogel-Fulcher relationship is fulfilled. The dielectric behaviour and its relation to the phase transition phenomena are discussed. The polarization hysteresis loops at room temperature are also measured.     

Effects of A1 site occupation on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Sr4CaRTi3Nb7O30（R=Ce,Eu） tungsten bronze ceramics

Sr4Ca RTi3Nb7O30（R = Ce, Eu） tungsten bronze ceramics are prepared by a standard solid state reaction method. The effects of A1 site occupation on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Sr4 Ca RTi3Nb7O30（R = Ce, Eu） tetragonal tungsten bronzes are investigated. The Sr4 Ca Ce Ti3Nb7O30 shows a normal transition behavior due to the closer size ion occupation in A1 sites, which could suppress the distortion of B2 octahedra effectively. Sr4 Ca Eu Ti3Nb7O30 ceramic exhibits two dielectric anomalies, which might be related to the fact that the large radius difference between Ca^2＋ and Eu^3＋ could lead to the uneven distribution of Ca^2＋ and Eu^3＋ in A1 sites and form two slightly different kinds of compositions with different transition temperatures in the structure. Our results indicate that the ionic radius difference in A1 sites plays an important role in determining the dielectric and ferroelectric natures of the filled tungsten bronze ceramics. Polarization–electric field（P–E） curves are evaluated at room temperature and both of them show hysteresis loops. Sr4 Ca Ce Ti3Nb7O30 shows a fat hysteresis loop, indicating the long-range ferroelectric order in the ceramic. The current density–electric field（J–E） curves are measured at room temperature with a largest leakage current density of ～ 10^-6A/cm^2, indicating that their leakage currents are rather low.     

Improved multiferroic properties of La-doped 0.6BiFeO₃-0.4SrTiO₃ solid solution ceramics

The 0.6(Bi1-xLax)FeO 3-0.4SrTiO 3(x = 0,0.1) multiferroic ceramics are prepared by a modified Pechini method to study the effect of substitution of SrTiO3 and La in BiFeO3.The X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the single phase characteristics of all the compositions each with a rhombohedral structure.The magnetic properties of the ceramics are significantly improved by a solid solution with SrTiO3 and substitution of La.The values of the dielectric constant ε r and loss tangent tan δ of all the samples decrease with increasing frequency and become constant at room temperature.The La-doped 0.6BiFeO3-0.4SrTiO3 ceramics exhibit improved dielectric and ferroelectric properties,with higher dielectric constant enhanced remnant polarization(Pr) and lower leakage current at room temperature.Compared with a anti-ferromagnetic BiFeO3 compound,the 0.6(Bi0.9La0.1)FeO3-0.4SrTiO3 sample shows the optimal ferromagnetism with remnant magnetization M r ～ 0.135 emμ/g and ferroelectricity with Pr ～ 5.94 μC/cm 2 at room temperature.     

Structure, dielectric and magnetodielectric properties of Bi1-xGdxFeO3 Ceramics

Different magnetodielectric effects were observed in Bi1-xGdxFeO3 ceramics depending on gadolinium content. A positive one was observed in the samples with x ≤0.10 at 295K and 16K, and a negative one in the sample with x = 0.4 at 16 K. Structure analysis by x-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the samples crystallize in the R3c structure (ferroelectrics) for x<0.08 and in the Pbnm structure (paraelectrics) for x≥0.3 at room temperature. Temperature-dependent dielectric response and x-ray diffraction confirm the occurrence of a structural transition in the Pbnm phase at low temperature for the samples with x ≤0.4. While the positive magnetodielectric effects can be attributed to a coupling of magnetic and crystallographic structures of the R3c phase, the observed negative magnetodielectric effect in the Pbnm phase can be associated with a low-temperature modification of the Pbnm structure. The observed dualsigned magnetodielectric effects suggest that the Bi1-xGdxFeO3 oxides are a good prototype for understanding the magnetodielectric coupling mechanism in this kind of materials.     

Improved multiferroic properties of La-doped 0.6BiFeO3—0.4SrTiO3 solid solution ceramics

The 0.6（Bi1-xLax）FeO 3-0.4SrTiO 3（x = 0,0.1） multiferroic ceramics are prepared by a modified Pechini method to study the effect of substitution of SrTiO3 and La in BiFeO3.The X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the single phase characteristics of all the compositions each with a rhombohedral structure.The magnetic properties of the ceramics are significantly improved by a solid solution with SrTiO3 and substitution of La.The values of the dielectric constant ε r and loss tangent tan δ of all the samples decrease with increasing frequency and become constant at room temperature.The La-doped 0.6BiFeO3-0.4SrTiO3 ceramics exhibit improved dielectric and ferroelectric properties,with higher dielectric constant enhanced remnant polarization（Pr） and lower leakage current at room temperature.Compared with a anti-ferromagnetic BiFeO3 compound,the 0.6（Bi0.9La0.1）FeO3-0.4SrTiO3 sample shows the optimal ferromagnetism with remnant magnetization M r ～ 0.135 emμ/g and ferroelectricity with Pr ～ 5.94 μC/cm 2 at room temperature.     

Temperature dependences of ferroelectricity and resistive switching behavior of epitaxial BiFeO_3 thin films

We investigate the resistive switching and ferroelectric polarization properties of high-quality epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films in various temperature ranges. The room temperature current–voltage(I–V) curve exhibits a well-established polarization-modulated memristor behavior. At low temperatures( 253 K), the I–V curve shows an open circuit voltage(OCV), which possibly originates from the dielectric relaxation effects, accompanied with a current hump due to the polarization reversal displacement current. While at relative higher temperatures( 253 K), the I–V behaviors are governed by both space-charge-limited conduction(SCLC) and Ohmic behavior. The polarization reversal is able to trigger the conduction switching from Ohmic to SCLC behavior, leading to the observed ferroelectric resistive switching. At a temperature of 298 K, there occurs a new resistive switching hysteresis at high bias voltages, which may be related to defect-mediated effects.     

Evolution from Diffuse Ferroelectric to Relaxor Ferroelectric in Pb1-xBax（Fe1/2Nb1/2）O3 Solid Solutions

Dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics for Pb1-xBax（Fe1/2Nh/2）O3 （x = 0,0.05,0.1,0.15, and 0.2） ceramics are determined together with their structures. X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis confirms the solid solutions with the cubic structure. The dielectric nature changes from diffuse ferroelectric to relaxor ferroelectric with increasing x, while the phase transition temperature Tc （or Tm） decreases monotonously. The diffuse ferroelectric phase transition is observed in the solid solutions with 0≤x ≤0.05. For Pbl-xBax（Fe1/2Nb1/2）O3 with 0.1≤ x≤0.2, relaxor ferroelectric behavior is determined, and the Vogel-Fulcher equation is used to describe the relaxor behavior. The 1/ε versus T plots reveal the diffusion dielectric characteristics in both diffuse and relaxor ferroelectrics.     

Coexistence of magnetic and ferroelectric properties in Y0.1Co1.9MnO4

The magnetic,conductivity,and dielectric properties have been investigated in single-phase polycrystalline Y0.1 Co1.9 MnO4.The temperature-dependent magnetisation reveals the ferromagnetic transition in sample at a low temperature (～186 K).Magnetisation as a function of field H (M-H loop) indicated the weak ferromagnetism of the sample at room temperature.The constant ε and dielectric loss tgδ measurements represent a ferroelectric phase transition at a higher temperature (～650 K),while the conductivity shows an insulator-metallic transition.The ferroelectric hysterisis loops and capacitance-voltage measurements confirm the ferroelectric nature of the sample at room temperature.The observed ferromagnetism and ferroelectric nature in this material suggests a potential multiferroic application.     

Effects of （LiCe） co-substitution on the structural and electrical properties of CaBi2Nb209 ceramics

The piezoelectric,dielectric,and ferroelectric properties of the(LiCe) co-substituted calcium bismuth niobate(CaBi2Nb2O9,CBNO) are investigated.The piezoelectric properties of CBNO ceramics are significantly enhanced and the dielectric loss tan δ decreased.This makes poling using(LiCe) co-substitution easier.The ceramics(where represents A-site Ca2+ vacancies,possess a pure layered structure phase and no other phases can be found.The Ca0.88(LiCe)0.04 0.04Bi2Nb2O9 ceramics possess optimal piezoelectric properties,with piezoelectric coefficient(d 33) and Curie temperature(TC) found to be 13.3 pC/N and 960 C,respectively.The dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the(LiCe) co-substituted CBNO ceramics exhibit very stable temperature behaviours.This demonstrates that the CBNO ceramics are a promising candidate for ultrahigh temperature applications.     

Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of La-Doped SrBi2Nb2O9 Ceramics

Sr1-xLa2x/3Bi2Nb20O （0 ≤ x ≤0.2） ceramic samples are prepared by the solid-state reaction method. Their structure, dielectric and ferroelectric properties are investigated. The incorporation of La^3＋ improves the den- sification and decreases the grain size of the ceramics without changing the crystal structure. The remanent polarization 2PT increases with increasing La content and reaches a maximum value of 22.8μC/cm^2 at x = 0.125, which is approximately 60% larger than that of pure SrBi2Nb2O9. The Curie temperature keeps almost unchanged at a value of about 440℃. The relationship between doping and the ferroeleetrie and dielectric properties are discussed.     

Magnetoelectric effects in multiferroic Y-type hexaferrites Ba_(0.3)Sr_(1.7)Co_xMg_(2-x)Fe_(12)O_(22)

Y-type hexaferrites with tunable conical magnetic structures are promising single-phase multiferroics that exhibit large magnetoelectric effects. We have investigated the influence of Co substitution on the magnetoelectric properties in the Y-type hexaferrites Ba(0.3)Sr(1.7)CoxMg(2-x)Fe(12)O(22)(x = 0.0, 0.4, 1.0, 1.6). The spin-induced electric polarization can be reversed by applying a low magnetic field for all the samples. The magnetoelectric phase diagrams of BaBa(0.3)Sr(1.7)CoxMg(2-x)Fe(12)O(22) are obtained based on the measurements of magnetic field dependence of dielectric constant at selected temperatures. It is found that the substitution of Co ions can preserve the ferroelectric phase up to a higher temperature, and thus is beneficial for achieving single-phase multiferroics at room temperature.     

Magnetic properties of Nd0.5Pb0.5-xSrxMnO3 materials

The structure and magnetic properties of Nd0.5Pb0.5-xSrxMnO3 (0≤x≤0.4) manganites were systematically investigated. Significant changes in Curie temperature and metal-insulator (MI) transition temperature of the samples were observed. All samples exhibited a transition from paramagnetic semiconducting to ferromagnetic metallic state.Curie temperature Tc and the MI transition temperature Tp increased with increasing Sr content. We attributed these behaviours to the enhancing of both the double exchange mechanism and the Jahn-Teller electron-phonon coupling.     

The low-temperature sintering and microwave dielectric properties of （Zno.7Mgo.3） TiO3 ceramics with H3BO3

The effects of the addition of H3BO3 on the microstructure, phase formation, and microwave dielectric properties of （Zn0.TMg0.3）TiO3 ceramics sintered at temperatures ranging from 890 ℃ to 950 ℃ are investigated. H3BO3 as a sintering agent can effectively lower the sintering temperature of ZMT ceramics below 950 ℃due to the liquid-phase effect. The microwave dielectric properties are found to strongly correlate with the amount of H3BO3. With the increase in H3BO3 content, the dielectric constant （er） monotonically increases, but the quality factor （Q x f） reaches a maximum at 1 wt% H3BO3, and the apparent density of ZMT ceramics with H3BO3〉 1 wt% gradually decreases. At 950 ℃, the ZMT ceramics with 1% H3BO3 exhibit excellent microwave dielectric properties： er = 19.8, and Q x f -- 43800 GHz （8.94 GHz）.     

Enhanced ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3/La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 heterostructure grown by pulsed laser deposition

Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3(BBFO)/La2/3Sr1/3MnO3(LSMO) heterostructures are fabricated on LaAlO3(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Giant remnant polarization value(～ 85 μC/cm2) and large saturated magnetization value(～ 12.4 emu/cm3) for BBFO/LSMO heterostructures are demonstrated at room temperature. Mixed ferroelectric domain structures and low leakage current are observed and in favor of enhanced ferroelectric properties in the BBFO/LSMO heterostructures. The magnetic field-dependent magnetization measurements reveal the enhancement in the magnetic moment and improved magnetic hysteresis loop originating from the BBFO/LSMO interface. The heterostructure is proved to be effective in enhancing the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic performances in multiferroic BFO films at room temperature.     

Structural and electrical properties of Nd ion modified lead zirconate titanate nanopowders and ceramics

A modified sol-gel method is used for synthesizing Nd ion doped lead zirconate titanate nanopowders Pb_{1 - 3x}/2Nd_xZr₀.52Ti₀.48O₃ (PNZT) in an ethylene glycol system with zirconium nitrate as zirconium source. The results show that it is critical to add lead acetate after the reaction of zirconium nitrate with tetrabutyl titanate in the ethylene glycol system for preparing PNZT with an exact fraction of titanium content. It has been observed that the dopant of excess Nd ions can effectively improve the sintered densification and activity of the PNZT ceramics. Piezoelectric, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the PNZT ceramics are remarkably enhanced as compared with those of monolithic lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Especially, the supreme values of piezoelectric constant (d₃₃) and dielectric constant (\it ε) for the PNZT are both about two times that of the monolithic PZT and moreover, the remnant polarization (P_r) also increases by 30%. According to the analysis of the structures and properties, we attribute the improvement in electrical properties to the lead vacancies caused by the doping of Nd ions.     

Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Sr_4CaSmTi_3Nb_7O_(30) with tetragonal tungsten bronze structure

Sr4CaSmTi3Nb7O30ceramics are synthesized and indexed as tetragonal tungsten bronze structure. The dielectric behavior and ferroelectric nature are investigated. Three dielectric anomalies are observed. The phase transition is a displacive phase transition with some diffusive characteristics, which indicates possible compositional variations within the materials on the microscopic scale. The weak distortion disappears in cooling process for differential scanning calorimetry measurement, and the large depression of Curie–Weiss temperature T0 indicates the difficulty in forming macroferroelectric domain. The ferroelectric nature in these filled tungsten bronze niobates originates from the off-center displacement of Bsite cations, but they are primarily dominated by A-site cation occupation. Both the radius and the valence of A1-site cations play an important role on ferroelectric properties of the filled tungsten bronze compounds. Existence of spontaneous polarization with a remanent polarization of 0.16 μC/cm2 a coercive field of Ec = 11.74 kV/cm confirms the room-temperature ferroelectric nature of Sr4CaSmTi3Nb7O30 ceramics.     

Improvement of dielectric （Ba,Sr）TiO3 thin tunability and loss tangent of films with K doping

Ba0.6Sr0.4 TiO3 thin films doped with K were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2 /Si substrates by the chemical solution deposition method. The structure, surface morphology and the dielectric and tunable properties of Ba0.6Sr0.4 TiO 3 thin films have been studied in detail. The K content in Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films has a strong influence on the material’s properties including surface morphology and the dielectric and tunable properties. It was found that the Curie temperature of K-doped Ba0.6Sr0.4 TiO3 films shifts to a higher value compared with that of undoped Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films, which leads to a dielectric enhancement of K-doped Ba0.6Sr0.4 TiO3 films at room temperature. At the optimized content of 0.02 mol, the dielectric loss tangent is reduced significantly from 0.057 to 0.020. Meanwhile, the tunability is enhanced obviously from 26% to 48% at the measured frequency of 1 MHz and the maximum value of the figure of merit is 23.8. This suggests that such films have potential applications for tunable devices.     

Effect of oxygen content on dielectric characteristics of Cr-doped LaTiO_x

The ceramics La_(0.85)Cr_(0.15)TiO_x and La_(0.7)Cr_(0.3)TiO_x are prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The dielectric properties of Cr-doped La TiO_x as a function of frequency(0.1 k Hz ≤ f ≤ 1 MHz) and temperature(77 K ≤ T ≤360 K) are studied. The blocks are then annealed in a flowing O_2 or Ar/H_2 to convert their oxygen content and the tests mentioned above are performed. The highly oxygenated samples exhibit extremely high low-frequency dielectric constants at room temperature(～10~6). The results show that the oxygen stoichiometry could significantly influence the dielectric properties of Cr-doped LaTiO_x.     

Low temperature magnetic and magnetostrictive properties in Pr(Fe_(1-x)Co_x)_(1.9) cubic Laves alloys

The structures,spin reorientations,magnetic,and magnetostrictive properties of the polycrystalline Pr(Fe_(1-x)Co_x)_(1.9)(x=0–1.0)cubic laves phase alloys between 5 K and 300 K are investigated.Large low-field magnetostrictions are observed at 5 K in the alloys with x=0.2 and 0.4 due to the low magnetic anisotropies of these two alloys.A large negative magnetostriction of about-1130 ppm is found in PrCo_(1.9) alloy at 5 K.The magnetizations of the alloys with 0≤x≤0.6decrease abnormally at the spin reorientation temperature T_(sr),and an abnormity is detected in the alloy with x=1.0 at its Curie temperature T_c(45 K).The substitution of Fe by Co increases the value of T_(sr) in the alloy with x value increasing from 0.0 to 0.4,and then reduces the value of Tsr with x value further increasing to 0.6.     

Electric properties and phase transition behavior in lead lanthanum zirconate stannate titanate ceramics with low zirconate content

The phase transitions, dielectric properties, and polarization versus electric field(P–E) hysteresis loops of Pb0.97La0.02(Zr0.42Sn0.58-x Ti x)O3(0.13≤ x ≤0.18)(PLZST) bulk ceramics were systematically investigated. This study exhibited a sequence of phase transitions by analyzing the change of the P–E hysteresis loops with increasing temperature.The antiferroelectric(AFE) to ferroelectric(FE) phase boundary of PLZST with the Zr content of 0.42 was found to locate at the Ti content between 0.14 and 0.15. This work is aimed to improve the ternary phase diagram of lanthanum-doped PZST with the Zr content of 0.42 and will be a good reference for seeking high energy storage density in the PLZST system with low-Zr content.