Microstructure of (Ba 0.75 ,Sr 0.25 )TiO 3 based glass-ceramics doped by Mn

Abstract

We studied microstructure, surface morphology, and domain structure of (Ba 0.75 ,Sr 0.25 )TiO 3 based glass-ceramics with different amount of Mn additive (from 0 to 0.5%) prepared from melted and quenched mixed powders using several microscopic methods. The as-quenched sample was annealed and subjected to a controlled crystallization in air for 2h at temperatures 850 and 950?C. It was shown that the addition of the Mn up to 0.5% had no impact on morphology and domain structure. The dendrite structure was revealed in the samples crystallized at 850?C. The geometry of the clusters was analysed in terms of fractal approach. The faceted grains with size about 150 nm were found in ceramics annealed at 950?C. Individual grains demonstrated non-uniform piezoresponse, which could be attributed to existence of domain structure. © 2018 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.