The effect of Erbium on physical properties of the Ba0.8Ca0.2Ti0.975(Nb0.5Yb0.5)0.025O3 multifunctional ceramic.

We reported the effect of Erbium (Er with x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.025 and 0.03)-substituted Ba_0.8Ca_0.2Ti_0.975(Nb_0.5Yb_0.5)_0.025O₃ lead-free ceramics. Structural, dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric and photoluminescence properties of all ceramics were systematically explored. At room temperature, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that (Ba_0.8Ca_0.2)_1-xEr_2x/3 □ _x/3Ti_0.975(Nb_0.5Yb_0.5)_0.025O₃ samples (Abbreviated as BCTYN-xEr) exhibited a pure tetragonal phase for x ≤ 0.025. However, the composition (x = 0.03) showed the formation of an additional phase. The vibrational study was found to correlate strongly with XRD analysis. The dielectric properties were improved in the composition x = 0.01, where the dielectric constant was increased from 5824 for x = 0 up to 6150 for x = 0.01. The composition (x = 0.005) revealed the optimum properties with a d₃₃ piezoelectric coefficient of 88 pC/N, a k_p planar electromechanical coupling factor of 16.9% and a P_r remanent polarization of 9.25 μC/cm². The photoluminescence (PL) results showed, at 525 nm and 550 nm, two strong green bands. As multifunctional materials, BCTYN-xEr samples represent a great potential in the applications of mechanical–electro-optical coupling and integration devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]