One significant application of donor doped barium titanate (BaTiO3) is in the manufacture of Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (PTCR) thermistors. Combined synthesis, phase diagram and electrical studies were undertaken on donor doped barium titanate with a view to understanding the factors responsible for PTCR phenomena. A range of materials, both commercial PTCR devices and in-house lanthanum-doped barium titanate samples, have been studied. All three commercial PTCR samples measured were found to be electrically inhomogeneous with two PTCR-exhibiting regions and a conductive grain core. The conductive core resistance had a characteristic temperature dependence, with a minimum occurring in the vicinity of the tetragonal to cubic phase transition (Tc) of barium titanate. The phase relations and electrical behaviour of two joins in the lanthanum-doped BaTiO3 system, join A (Ba4-4xLa4xTi4-xO12) and join B (Ba1-yLayTiO3+), were also studied. Compositions on joins A and B for 0x0.195 and 0y0.1 respectively, crystallised as single phase barium titanate. Charge compensation on both joins (at these concentrations) was achieved by a mixture of both titanium vacancies and free electrons. The electron compensation mechanism, Ba_1-yLa_yTi. 4+_1-yTi. 3+O_3, significantly complicates determination of phase relations in this system, since it occurs off the BaO-TiO_2-La_2O_3 ternary phase diagram. Ac impedance measurements indicated that samples on join A were electrically inhomogeneous resulting in the presence of different regions with variable Tx values; furthermore, the phase transitions in each region were themselves complex. The tetragonal to cubic phase transition was studied by a combination of x-ray diffraction, ac impedance and by varying dopant concentration. The resulting behaviour was complex, with both first order and continuous transitions occurring. There was also evidence of a two phase, (i.e. both cubic and tetragonal barium titanate) region associated with a distribution in particle size: small particles (&60 2m) were cubic; larger ones were tetragonal. It is apparent that the combined, complicating effects of grain size and segregation phenomena make it inappropriate to give an explanation for the phase relations and electrical behaviour of lanthanum-doped barium titanate in terms of classical phase equilibria and phase transition theories.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:357007 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Johnston, Diane E. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU554634 |
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