Double Hysteresis Loop in BaTiO3-Based Ferroelectric Ceramics

Abstract

In 1951, the notion of anti-ferroelectricity based on the phenomenological theory was firstly proposed by C. Kittel (Kittel, 1951), and who predicted exist of the anti-ferroelectric materials and its some intrinsic characteristics. Subsequently, a double hysteresis (P–E) loop and a ferroelectric-antiferroelectric (FE-AFE) phase transition were observed in PbZrO3 (Shirane et al., 1951, 1952) and Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (Sawaguchi, 1953) ceramics with a perovskite structure. Since then, the double hysteresis loop, one important macroscopic effect, has been regarded as a typical characteristic of antiferroelectric materials. This kinds of antiferroelectric behavior is also observed in Pb(Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 and Pb(La, Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 ceramics (Berlincourt, 1963, 1964; Biggers & Schulze, 1974; Gttrttritja et al., 1980; Shebanov et al., 1994). Interestingly, the double hysteresis loops have been observed in BaTiO3 (Merz, 1953), BaTiO3-based (Ren, 2004; Zhang & Ren, 2005, 2006; Liu et al., 2006), (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-based (Takenaka, 1991; Sakata & Masuda, 1974; Tu et al., 1994; Sakata et al., 1992), (Ba, Sr)TiO3 (Zhang et al., 2004), KNbO3 (Feng & Ren, 2007, 2008), BiFeO3 (Yuen et al., 2007) and other lead-based perovskite ceramics such as Pb(Yb0.5Ta0.5)O3 (Yasuda & Konda, 1993), Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3-Pb(Co1/2W1/2)O3 (Uchino & Nomura, 1978), Pb(Sc0.5Ta0.5)O3 (Chu et al., 1993) and Pb(Co1/2W1/2)O3 (Hachiga et al., 1985) over the past decades. However, the observed double hysteresis loops have different physical origins. For the physical origins of the double P-E loops observation in the perovskite structure materials, they can be generally classified into several groups below: (1) the double P-E loops result from antiferroelectric components. i.e., the observed double P-E loops in PbZrO3 and Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 ceramics. (2) the double P-E loops result from an electric fieldinduced antiferroelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition as shown observed in Pb(La, Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 ceramics. (3) two successive paraelectric-antiferroelectric-ferroelectric (PE-AFEFE) phase transitions is often observed in highly ordered perovskite lead-based and leadfree complex compounds, and the double P-E loops are expected to accompany this phase transition. Such case often occur in Pb(Yb0.5Ta0.5)O3, Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3-Pb(Co1/2W1/2)O3, Pb(Sc0.5Ta0.5)O3 and Pb(Co1/2W1/2)O3 and (Na0.5Bi0.5)TiO3-based ceramics. (4) an aging effect far below Curie temperature ( Tc ) can induce the double P-E loops observation in many kind different compositional ceramics such as acctor-doped BaTiO3 ceramics, Mn-