Dominique Michau

High-frequency dielectric spectroscopy of batio3 core - silica shell nanocomposites: Problem of interdiffusion

Three types of BaTiO 3 core -- amorphous nanoshell composite ceramics were processed from the same core-shell powder by standard sintering, spark-plasma sintering and two-step sintering techniques and characterized by XRD, HRSEM and broadband dielectric spectroscopy in the frequency range 10 3 - 10 13 Hz including the THz and IR range. The samples differed by porosity and by the amount of interdiffusion from the cores to shells, in correlation with their increasing porosity. The dielectric spectra were also calculated using suitable models based on effective medium approximation. The measurements revealed a strong dielectric dispersion below the THz range, which cannot be explained by the modeling, and whose strength was in correlation with the degree of interdiffusion. It is assigned to an effect of the interdiffusion layers, giving rise to a strong interfacial polarization. It appears that the high-frequency dielectric spectroscopy is an extremely sensitive tool for detection of any gradient layers and sample inhomogeneities even in dielectric materials with negligible conductivity.

The ferroelectric transition temperature as an intrinsic probe for sintered nanocrystalline BaTiO3 synthesized under supercritical conditions

We have investigated the sintering behaviour of cubic BaTiO3 nanoparticles obtained under supercritical conditions. The ferroelectric properties of samples sintered between 950 and 1300 °C were measured from room temperature up to 200 °C and in the frequency range 100 Hz–10 kHz. The influence of the initial powder characteristics on the microstructure and dielectric properties of ceramics have been investigated. The ferroelectric transition temperature was used as an intrinsic probe for the ceramic characterization and was then found to be dependent on the Ba:Ti ratio of the initial powder. Understanding the role of the key parameters at different scales (bulk and nanoscale composition, tetragonal distortion, microstructure) on the permittivity, losses and transition temperature would lead to a possible modulation of ferroelectric properties.

High-Frequency Response in Ferroelectric BaSrTiO3 Thin Films Studied by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

We have measured the dielectric properties of BaTiO3–SrTiO3 thin films, deposited on fused silica substrates, in the MHz and THz frequency regions. Different experimental Chemical Vapor Deposition parameters were analyzed to improve dielectric properties of these thin films. In particular, we clarify pressure and oxygen percentages during the deposition of the thin layer. The complex permittivity function of the film was accurately determined between 100 GHz and 1 THz. We show that the real part of the dielectric behavior at very high frequencies follows the same tendency of the low frequency dielectric behavior also measured. These results are correlated to X-ray diffraction and RBS patterns, which show that the cationic ratio (Ba+Sr)/Ti increases from about 0.6 to 0.9 as sputtering pressure changes from 1 to 5 Pa, leading to better dielectric properties.