The effect of Erbium on physical properties of the Ba0.8Ca0.2Ti0.975(Nb0.5Yb0.5)0.025O3 multifunctional ceramic

We reported the effect of Erbium (Er with x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.025 and 0.03)-substituted Ba0.8Ca0.2Ti0.975(Nb0.5Yb0.5)(0.025)O-3 lead-free ceramics. Structural, dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric and photolumines-cence properties of all ceramics were systematically explored. At room temperature, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that (Ba0.8Ca0.2)(1-x)Er2x/3?x/3Ti0.975(Nb0.5Yb0.5)(0.025)O-3 samples (Abbreviated as BCTYN-xEr) exhibited a pure tetragonal phase for x <= 0.025. However, the composition (x = 0.03) showed the formation of an additional phase. The vibrational study was found to correlate strongly with XRD analysis. The dielectric properties were improved in the composition x = 0.01, where the dielectric constant was increased from 5824 for x = 0 up to 6150 for x = 0.01. The composition (x = 0.005) revealed the optimum properties with a d(33) piezoelectric coefficient of 88 pC/N, a k(p) planar electromechanical coupling factor of 16.9% and a P(r )remanent polarization of 9.25 mu C/cm(2). The photoluminescence (PL) results showed, at 525 nm and 550 nm, two strong green bands. As multifunctional materials, BCTYN-xEr samples represent a great potential in the applications of mechanical-electro-optical coupling and integration devices.

Automated summary

We reported the effect of Erbium-substituted Ba0.8Ca0.2Ti0.975(Nb0.5Yb0.5)(0.025)O-3 lead-free ceramics. The ceramcis exhibited improved dielectric properties and strong green bands in photoluminescence. The composition with x = 0.005 showed the optimum properties with high piezoelectric coefficient and planar electromechanical coupling factor.