Validation of Synthesis Routes for Ferroelectric Barium Strontium Titanate for Potential Applications in Microsystem Technology

Abstract:
As a possible alternative to lead-containing lead zirconate titanate (PZT), barium titanate (BaTiO3) can be used as a ferroelectric and piezoelectric material. To expand the range of applications for BaTiO3, the physical properties can be tailored by incorporating other elements, such as strontium, into the crystal structure of BaTiO3. In particular, this allows the Curie temperature (TC) to be varied depending on the strontium content. The work presented here compares the production of barium strontium titanate ceramics (BST, Ba1-xSrxTiO3) using the easy-to-implement Solid State Reaction (SSR) with the more material- and cost-intensive Sol-Gel Process (SGP) in terms of the powder particle sizes achieved, the crystal structure, and the dielectric properties for different strontium contents. These powders have already been used to produce thin layers by electrophoretic deposition (EPD).