Dielectric Relaxation and Charged Domain Walls in (K,Na)NbO3-Based Ferroelectric Ceramics

Abstract

The influence of domain walls on the macroscopic properties of ferroelectric materials is a well known phenomenon. Commonly, such “extrinsic” contributions to dielectric permittivity are discussed in terms of domain wall displacements under external electric field. In this work, we report on a possible contribution of charged domain walls to low frequency (10-106 Hz) dielectric permittivity in K1-xNaxNbO3 ferroelectric ceramics. It is shown that the effective dielectric response increases with increasing domain wall density. The effect has been attributed to the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars relaxation. The obtained results may open up possibilities for domain wall engineering in various ferroelectric materials. © 2017 Author(s).