Characterization of lead cation-incorporated strontium bismuth tantalate ferroelectrics

The synthesis and characterization of lead cation-incorporated strontium bismuth tantalate ferroelectrics were investigated. Monophasic layered perovskites were successfully prepared, and the formation of solid solutions of lead-doped SrBi 2Ta 2O 9 was corroborated. The value of lattice parameter c monotonicly increased with an increase in the lead content. The sinterability of the formed powder was poor; however, adding excess bismuth oxide markedly facilitated the sintering process. After sintering, the specimens exhibited strong preferred c-axis orientation. The degree of c-axis orientation significantly varied with the sintering temperature and the doping amount of lead species. SEM analysis indicated that the variation in the morphology of the grains was related to the degree of c-axis preferred orientation. The lead-doped specimens exhibited ferroelectric properties with well saturated P-E loops. Both the remanent polarization and the coercive field increased with the doping amount of lead cations.