Structural and dielectric properties of undoped ZnO pellets prepared by solid state route

Undoped zinc oxide has been prepared at various growth temperatures by a conventional sintering process. The crystal structures of the prepared samples were studied by X-ray diffraction. The frequency-dependent dielectric dispersion of all the sintered ZnO ceramics was investigated in the temperature range from ?100 to 30 °C and in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 10 MHz by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. An analysis of the complex permittivity and electric modulus as a function of frequency has been performed assuming a distribution of relaxation times. The pellet sintered at 900 °C showed the lowest value of the dielectric strength. The temperature dependent of the parameter α is discussed. While the charge transport through the grain and grain boundary regions was examined by impedance spectroscopy. Activation energy values extracted from conduction measurements were found to be in the range of 0.09 and 0.3 eV.