Relaxorlike dielectric behavior and weak ferromagnetism in YFeO3 ceramics

Dielectric characteristics of YFeO3 antiferromagnetic ceramics were evaluated over broad temperature and frequency ranges. Two dielectric relaxations were observed at low and high temperatures, respectively, and a dielectric constant step was detected between them. The low temperature dielectric relaxation was an intrinsic thermally activated process following the Arrhenius law with the activation energy very close to that for electronic ferroelectrics, while the high temperature dielectric relaxation was related to the point defect since it could be significantly suppressed by O-2 annealing. M-H hysteresis loop was detected at room temperature, and this indicated the weak ferromagnetism in YFeO3 ceramics. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.