CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics from co-precipitation method: Dielectric properties of pellets and thick films

Dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO)-based ceramics and thick films (e similar to 50 mu m) prepared from powders synthesized by a soft chemistry method (co-precipitation) are presented and discussed, The characteristics of pellets and thick films are compared. The pellets exhibit high values of the dielectric permittivity (epsilon(r) similar to 1.4 x 10(5)) and relatively small dielectric losses (tan delta similar to 0.16) at 1 kHz and room temperature. These properties are independent of the nature of the metallization of the electrodes. In addition, the dielectric permittivity decreases when the diameter of the electrodes of the pellets increases, while the losses remain constant. This result, which is strongly related to the nature of the dielectric material in between the electrodes, constitutes a strong indication that the high dielectric permittivity values observed in this material are not related to an interfacial (electrode material) related mechanism but is an internal barrier layer capacitor (IBLC) type. Very high values of the dielectric permittivity of CCTO thick films are measured (epsilon(r) similar to 5 x 10(4)). The differences in dielectric permittivity between thick films and dense pellets may be attributed to the difference in grain size due to different CuO contents, and to the different reactivity of the materials. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.