Structure, electrical and luminescent properties of the NBT:Er-0.3CT:Pr composite ceramics

A binary composite ceramic Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3:0.002 Er-0.3CaTiO3:0.003 Pr (NBT:Er-0.3CT:Pr) was fabricated by a conventional solid state reaction route. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and phase structure of the ceramics has been investigated. And the basic electrical properties such as dielectric properties and ferroelectric performances of the ceramics were examined. Macro long-ranged ferroelectric order cannot be induced via electric field in the composite ceramics. And under local electric field using PFM, obvious ferroelectric switching is identified in the ceramics. Furthermore, the up-conversion luminescence, photochromic reaction, and luminescence modulation have been achieved in the ceramics. Additionally, photo-stimulated luminescence and thermal luminescence are obtained. The present study indicates that optical properties are tightly related to the sintering temperature. The prepared ceramic NBT:Er-0.3CT:Pr owns a piezoelectric performance and multi luminescence properties, which can widen the applications of ferroelectric ceramics.

Automated summary

A binary composite ceramic NBT:Er-0.3CT:Pr was fabricated via conventional solid state reaction, with investigations on the effects of sintering temperature on microstructure and electrical properties. It was found that macro long-ranged ferroelectric order cannot be induced by electric field in the composite ceramics, but visible ferroelectric switching can be observed under local electric field.