The Investigation of the Zr-doped LaNbO4 Thin Ceramic Films by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Thin Zr-doped lanthanum niobium oxide (LaNb1-xZrxO4) films were formed on the optical quartz (SiO2) substrates using magnetron sputtering technique. Formed LaNb1-xZrxO4 thin films were characterized using different techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and impedance spectroscopy. Electrical parameters of LaNb1-xZrxO4 thin ceramic were investigated in the frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 1.0 MHz in temperature range from 773 to 1173 K. It was determined that LaNb1-xZrxO4 thin ceramic films have the tetragonal structure and non-Debye type of relaxation. The activation energy was estimated from the relaxation time of impedance, electric modulus and conductivity resulting the activation energies vary from 1.12 ± 1 eV (Zr 1.99at.%), to 1.24 eV±1 eV (Zr 0.62at.%). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.21.3.9535