Investigation of the ferroelectric-relaxor crossover in Ce-doped BaTiO3 ceramics by impedance spectroscopy and Raman study

BaCe (x) Ti1- (x) O-3 (x=0.06, 0.10, and 0.20) solid solutions were prepared via conventional the solid-state reaction and sintered at 1500 degrees C for 4h, resulting in dense single phase ceramics with homogeneous microstructures. The electric field dependence of permittivity of the BaCe (x) Ti1- (x) O-3 ceramics was investigated in detail, together with the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition features. A transformation from normal to relaxor ferroelectrics was observed by increasing the Ce concentration. For low-Ce content, a substitution of Ce on both A and B site positions was proposed from the dielectric study and confirmed by Raman analysis.