A comparative study of Ba0.95Ca0.05Zr0.25Ti0.75O3 relaxor ceramics prepared by conventional and microwave sintering techniques

A comparative study on the dielectric properties of (Ba0.95Ca0.05Zr0.25Ti0.75O3 (BCZT)) bulk ceramics prepared by conventional and microwave sintering (MWS) has been done. High-density ceramic materials were obtained in 4 h of cycle time for microwave sintered sample whereas it took 22 h for conventional method. Samples prepared by both sintering techniques showed single-phase formation in XRD with cubic structure. The dielectric properties of the samples were measured as a function of temperature in the frequency range of 100 Hz-100 kHz. Relaxor behaviour was observed in both types of samples. It was observed that the peak value of dielectric constant was higher for microwave sintered sample compared to conventional one and also the dielectric loss was lower. The value of activation energy was found to be similar to 0.53 eV and 0.29 eV for microwave sintered and conventional sintered samples, respectively. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.