The ac electrical behavior of polycrystalline yttria

Abstract

The ac electrical behavior of the polycrystalline yttria was evaluated in the temperature range of 800–1300 °C in air as a function of frequency (5 Hz≤f≤13 MHz). Resistance-temperature and resistance-time (aging) characteristics were examined using immittance measurements and electron microscopy to establish microstructure-property relationships. The ac electrical data indicated two distinct relaxations when analyzed in the impedance plane. These relaxations are attributed to the lumped grain and grain-boundary contributions in conjunction with a polarization effect at the electrode/sample interface. The admittance plane analysis revealed a semicircular relaxation in the low-frequency region, indicative of a trapping effect associated with grain-boundaries and the electrode/sample interface. The variation in the total electrical resistance with time is found to be dependent on the starting microstructure of the sample. A sample with a larger grain size shows a smaller degree of aging at elevated temperatures. Immittance measurements suggest that the major contribution to the aging behavior comes from the evolution in the microstructure.