Structural and dielectric properties of sol–gel processed Ce-doped BaTi0.97Y0.03O3 ceramics

Structural and dielectric properties of Ce-doped BaTi 0 . 9 7 Y 0 . 0 3 O3 powders, with the chemical formulation (Ba 1 − x Ce x ) (Ti( 0 . 9 7 − x / 4 ) - Y 0 . 0 3 ) O3 such as x = 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 9%, produced by the sol–gel method, have been investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that Ce 3 + ions incorporated Ba sites until x = 7% indicating that this concentration represents a solubility limit of Ce 3 + ions in BaTi 0 . 9 7 Y 0 . 0 3 O3 matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed a decrease in grain size down to the same concentration of 7%. Raman spectroscopy analysis showed the appearance of A 1 g mode, which we attributed to the effect of incorporation of Ce 3 + and Y 3 + in BaTiO3 matrix. Dielectric measurements revealed that doping with cerium lowers the temperature of permittivity maximum at the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric transition (FPT) of the BaTi 0 . 9 7 Y 0 . 0 3 O3 sample, and reaches a value that should be below 40 ∘ C for x = 9%. Moreover, the phenomenon of dielectric resonance was observed on all Ce-doped samples, which was not the case with other dopants as reported in the literature.