ENHANCED DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES IN LA MODIFIED BARIUM TITANATE CERAMICS

Donor/acceptor (La/Mn) doped BaTiO3 ceramics, sintered at different temperatures, were studied regarding their microstructure and dielectric properties as well as the dielectric response in a ferroelectric/paraelectric regime. The concentrations of La3+ as donor, ranging from 0.1 to 5.0 at% were used for doping, while a content of Mn4+ as acceptor was at 0.05 at% in all samples. The sintering temperature of codoped samples were 1290°and 1350°C. A reduction in grain size and fine-grained microstructure with average grain size from 0.5 to 2.0 mm was observed in low doped samples, whereas the abnormal growth of individual grains took place in the 2 at% and 5 at% La doped specimens. The dielectric properties of these samples were investigated as a function of frequency (100Hz – 20 kHz) and temperature (20-180°C). The measured results suggested that both the dielectric constants of the ceramics (er at room temperature and ermaxat the Curie temperature) decreased as the concentration of La3+ increased. The dielectric permittivity was in the range of 944 to 3200. For samples doped with 0.1 at% La and sintered at 1350°C, the highest dielectric constant value at room temperature (er= 3200) and Curie temperature (er= 5000) were measured. For all measured samples the dissipation factor was less than 0.09. With an increase in La contents, dielectric measurements exhibited shift in the Curie temperature (Tc) towards the low temperature.Using the Curie-Weiss and the modified Curie-Weiss law, Curie's constant C was calculated as well as the parameterg, which describes the deviation from the linear dependence er of T above the phase transformation temperature. The calculated values for g ranged from 1.01 to 1.43. These values indicate a sharp phase transformation in low-doped and diffuse phase transformation in highly La doped samples. The phase transition was reflected in the values of C that started to decrease with increasing dopant content