Microstructure and bidirectional dielectric tunability behaviour of Nd3+-doped KSr2Nb5O15 lead-free ceramics

The luminescence modulation behaviour under the in-situ electric field of rare-earth doped KSr2Nb5O15 ceramics opened a new door for the development of dielectric materials. Where the understanding the effect of rare-earth doping on the electric properties of host, especially at the similar doping concentration with luminescence researches (low concentrations) is very important for the exploration of mechanism of electric-luminescent coupling effect. In this work, Nd3+-doped KSr2Nb5O15 (KSN-xNd) ceramics were synthesized, and the electric properties were investigated systematically. Our results suggest that the Nd3+ doping slightly increased the phase transition temperatures and improved the piezoelectric response of KSr2Nb5O15. Most importantly, a bidirectional dielectric tunability is revealed in KSr2Nb5O15. The dielectric permittivity can be adjusted by the DC electric bias, with tunability ranging from −12.3% to 21.9%. The related mechanism and relationship between the bidirectional dielectric tunability and ferroelectricity are revealed by temperature-dependent dielectric and ferroelectric characterization. The researches of electric properties and bidirectional dielectric tunability of KSN-based ceramics paved the way to further exploration of electric-luminescent coupling mechanism. [Display omitted] •A bidirectional dielectric tunability is revealed in Nd3+ doped KSr2Nb5O15 lead-free ferroelectric ceramics.•A strong correlation between the ferroelectric properties and dielectric tunability in KSN-based ceramics was exhibited.•The negative tunability process could be adjusted by the polarization behaviour in a KSN system.