Effect of Nd doping on structural, dielectric and electrical properties of Pb(SnTi)O3 ferroelectric ceramics

Abstract The aim of this work was to study the effect of Nd3+ doping on the structural, dielectric and electrical properties of Pb(SnTi)O3 ceramics, to give materials with the general formula (Pb1–xNdx)(Sn0·45Ti0·55)1–x/4O3(x=0, 0·05, 0·07, 0·1). These materials were synthesised using a conventional high temperature solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction studies at room tempera- ture revealed orthorhombic symmetry, and uniform grain size distribution throughout the surface of the samples for x=0·05–0·1 was observed by SEM. Study of the dielectric behaviour of compounds as a function of temperature shows that with increasing concentration of Nd3+ the dielectric constant maximum decreases; transition temperature Tc shifts to lower temperatures for x=0–0·07 but increases again at x=0·1. It is observed that at each concentration of Nd3+ the dielectric constant ϵ′ reaches a maximum at the same Curie temperature for all three test frequencies (1, 10, 100 kHz), which reveals the non-relaxor ferroelectric behaviour of these materials.