ac impedance analysis on crystalline layered and polycrystalline bismuth titanate

Abstract

A comparison is made on the dielectric properties of the ferroelectric perovskite bismuth titanate for both crystalline (along different directions) and polycrystalline (with and without flux) samples, using the complex ac impedance technique. Results for the impedance, conductivity activation energies, bulk dielectric constant, and temperature behavior of the low-frequency dielectric constant are presented. We discuss these results in terms of the conduction mechanisms depending on the nature of the sample, and compare results for crystalline and polycrystalline samples. Also, we show the important influence of the flux on the dielectric properties of the different samples, which must be taken into account in the use of these materials as substrates for the growth of superconducting thin-film ceramic oxides.