Effect of Firing Cycle on Structure and Some Dielectric and Piezoelectric Properties of Barium Titanate Ceramics

In the preparation of barium titanate ceramics for dielectric and piezoelectric applications, careful attention must be given to many factors which determine the ultimate performance of the ceramic. In this study structural differences were observed with the aid of electron micrographs as the time and temperature of firing were varied. At lower temperatures and shorter firing intervals crystals remained small, grain-boundary areas were relatively large, and there were numerous voids where several crystals joined. As the time and/or temperature were increased, crystals became larger with an improved grain-boundary condition that resulted in better structure. An optimum condition was soon reached beyond which rounding of edges at grain boundaries where several crystals joined became more pronounced. This caused an increase in the number of voids. Accompanying these changes, the 1-kc. dielectric constant, the piezoelectric constants (thickness mode), and coupling coefficients first improved, reached optimum values, and then declined slightly, but the resistance to depoling continually decreased as the crystal size increased. An experimental technique of rapid heating and cooling was used to prepare dense specimens of chemically pure barium titanate with relatively small average crystal sizes. Dielectric constants as high as 3000 with Q values of 80 were obtained for these high-density ceramics, accompanied by low effective piezoelectric constants and coupling coefficients.