Synthesis of a new electroceramic by replacement of Bi in strontium bismuth niobate

Abstract

Strontium bismuth niobate, SrBi2Nb2O9, (SBN) is a useful ferroelectric material for use in non-volatile random access memory cells, and Bi ions in SBN have been replaced by rare earth elements such as Sm, Gd and Dy to form new ceramics. This study reports the structure and electric properties of the new ceramic family of materials. A solid-state double sintering method synthesis route was adopted. Crystal structures were determined accurately by X-ray diffractometry and structure refinement using Reitveld analysis and other related softwares. The density was increased by the replacement in SBN. Homogeneous grain growth, the grain morphologies were observed, and the results discussed. The dielectric constants showed higher values for SBN and the dielectric loss was low. The change in the values of ferroelectric polarization with the addition of rare earths to SBN appears to be gradual.