Phase transitions and ferroelectric properties in BiScO3-Bi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3-BaTiO3 solid solutions

Ceramics solid solutions within the ternary perovskite system Bi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O-3-BiScO3-BaTiO3 were synthesized via solid-state processing techniques. The crystal structure of sintered ceramics was analyzed by x-ray diffraction. A stable perovskite phase was obtained for all compositions with a BaTiO3 content greater than 50 mol %. Furthermore, a change in symmetry from pseudocubic to tetragonal was observed as the mole fraction of BaTiO3 increased. Dielectric measurements show a dielectric anomaly associated with a phase transformation over the temperature range of 30 degrees C-210 degrees C for all compositions. Examination of the polarization hysteresis behavior revealed weakly nonlinear hysteresis loops. With these data, ferroelectric phase diagrams were derived showing the transition between the pseudocubic relaxor behavior to the tetragonal normal ferroelectric behavior. This transition was also correlated with changes in the diffuseness parameter. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.