Effect of the Sintering Temperature on the Structure and Properties of Fe-doped Bi3.25La0.75Ti2O12 Ceramics

Abstract

Recently, ferroelectric materials, such as La-substituted bismuth titanate (Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12, BLT), have attracted interest for their potential applications in nano-electronics and nano-optoelectronics. On the other hand, the wide band gap of BLT has limited its opto-electronics applications. To solve this wide band gap problem in complex oxides, Fe doped BLT (Bi3.25La0.75FeTi2O12, Fe-BLT) could result in a dramatic decrease in the band gap without breaking its crystallographic symmetry. To fabricate the opto-electric devices, a bulk ceramic target was synthesized using Fe-BLT for thin film growth. To determine the optimal temperature, the pellets were sintered at different temperatures ranging from 700 degrees C-1100 degrees C for 2.5hours. This study found that Fe-BLT target can be sintered at 1000 degrees C without an impurity phase with comparable density and hardness to a target sintered at higher temperatures.