Characterization of oxygen vacancies and their migration in Ba-doped Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 ferroelectrics

Abstract

We investigate in detail the migration kinetics of oxygen vacancies (OVs) in Ba-doped Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) ferroelectrics by complex impedance spectroscopy. The temperature dependent dc-electrical conductivity σdc suggests that Ba doping into PZT can lower significantly the density of OVs, leading to the distinctly decreased σdc and slightly enhanced activation energy U for the migration of OVs, thus benefiting the polarization fatigue resistance. Furthermore, the polarization fluctuation induced by the relaxation of OVs is reduced by the Ba doping. The Cole–Cole fitting to the dielectric loss manifests strong correlation among OVs, and the migration of OVs appears to be a collective behavior.