Suppression of Abnormal Grain Growth in Barium Titanate by Atmosphere Control

Abstract

The ferroelectric properties of barium titanate strongly depend on its microstructure, in particular, grain size and distribution. During sintering, usually exhibits abnormal grain growth, which deteriorates considerably the ferroelectric properties. A typical technique to suppress the abnormal grain growth is the addition of dopants. Dopant addition, however, affects the ferroelectric properties and thus limits the application of . Here, we report a simple but novel technique to prevent the abnormal grain growth of and to overcome the limitation of dopant use. The technique consists of stepwise sintering in a reducing atmosphere and in an oxidizing atmosphere. The materials prepared by the present technique exhibit uniform grain size and high dielectric properties. The technique should provide opportunities of having -based materials with superior ferroelectric properties.