Enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics prepared by microwave assisted radiant hybrid sintering

Structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of polycrystalline BaTiO3 (BTO) ceramics prepared with hybrid sintering i.e., microwave assisted radiant heating (MARH) are reported. It is observed that the permittivity (epsilon) and true switched ferroelectric charge density (Q(SW)) of BTO ceramics can be enhanced by employing MARH. An enhancement of 58% in epsilon and 17% in Q(SW) is observed for the BTO sample prepared with 30% microwave power applied during MARH as compared to the conventional radiant heating. The results are explained in terms of microstructure resulting from the microwave assisted sintering. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.