Incorporation of Er3+ into BaTiO3

The incorporation of Er3+ into BaTiO3 ceramics was investigated on samples containing 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 8, and 10 at.% of dopant, after sintering at 1350-1550degreesC in air. For Er3+ concentrations less than or equal to1 at.%, dense and large-grained ceramics with low room-temperature resistivity (10(2)-10(3) Omega.cm) were obtained. The observed properties are largely independent of stoichiometry. Simultaneous substitution of Er3+ at both cation sites, with higher preference for the Ba site, is proposed. The behavior of heavily doped ceramics depends on stoichiometry. When Ba/Ti < 1, the electrical properties change from slightly semiconducting to insulating as Er concentration increases from 2 to 8 at.%. The ceramics have tetragonal perovskite structure and contain a large amount of Er2Ti2O7 pyrochlore phase. On the other hand, when Ba/Ti > 1, the ceramics are insulating, fine-grained, and single phase. In this case, incorporation of Er3+ predominantly occurs at the Ti site, with oxygen vacancy compensation. Incorporation is accompanied by a significant reduction of tetragonality and by expansion of the unit cell. The different results indicate that Er3+ solubility at the Ba site does not exceed 1 at.%, whereas solubility at the Ti site is at least 10 at.%. However, the incorporation of Er3+ and the resulting properties are also strongly affected by sintering conditions.