CaTiO3 linear dielectric ceramics with greatly enhanced dielectric strength and energy storage density

CaTiO₃ is a typical linear dielectric material with high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and high resistivity, which is expected as a promising candidate for the high energy storage density applications. In the previous work, an energy density of 1.5 J/cm³ was obtained in CaTiO₃ ceramics, where the dielectric strength was only 435 kV/cm. In fact, the intrinsic dielectric strength of CaTiO₃ is predicted as high as 4.2 MV/cm. Therefore, it should be a challenge issue to enhance the dielectric strength and energy storage density of CaTiO₃ ceramics by optimizing the microstructures. In the present work, dense CaTiO₃ ceramics with fine and uniform microstructures are prepared by spark plasma sintering, and the greatly enhanced dielectric strength (910 kV/cm) and energy storage density (6.9 J/cm³) are obtained. This can be ascribed to the improved resistivity and thermal conductivity, associated with the fine and uniform microstructures. The different post‐breakdown features of CaTiO₃ ceramics prepared by different process well interpret why the enhanced dielectric strength is achieved in the SPS sample. The energy storage density can be further improved to 11.8 J/cm³ by introducing the amorphous alumina thin films as the charge blocking layer, where the dielectric strength is 1188 kV/cm.