Fabrication and Electrical Properties of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ Ceramics by Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) was applied to the production of non-lead ferroelectric Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 ceramics. A powder compact of a calcined oxide mixture was embedded in a mixture of ZrO 2 and Sb-doped SnO 2 powders in a carbon die and heated for a very short duration under a constant current of 450 A. This process led to the rapid densification of the sample with the simultaneous elongation and coarsening of grains in the sintered body. When a coprecipitated precursor was used as the starting powder, a grain-oriented sample was readily obtained by the SPS method. A strong anisotropy in electrical properties was observed for the grain-oriented Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 ceramics.