Effect of Sm3+ ions on structural, dielectric, and electrical properties of Pb(SnTi)O3 ceramics

Powders and pellets of (Pb1-xSmx)(SnyTi1-y)(1-x)/O-4(3) (PSmST) ferroelectric ceramics with x= 0, 0.05, 0.07, 0.1 and y= 0.45 have been synthesized using a solid-state reaction technique. Preliminary studies of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and scanning electron microscopic images of these compounds at room temperature suggest that compounds formed in a single phase with the orthorhombic crystal system and a uniform grain distribution throughout the surface of the samples. Dielectric study of these compounds as a function of temperature suggests that with increase in concentration of Sm3+, the relative dielectric constant maximum decreases. The electrical conductivities (a.c. and cl.c.) of the PSmST compounds have been investigated and the activation energies (E-a.c. and E-d.c.) have also been calculated. It is observed that for each concentration of Sm the relative dielectric constant (s) reaches its maximum value at the same transition temperature for all the three frequencies, which reveals the non-relaxor ferroelectric behavior of the materials. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.