Grain size effect on the nonlinear dielectric properties of barium titanate ceramics

The nonlinear dielectric properties of dense BaTiO3 ceramics with grain size of 1 μm–90 nm were investigated. In the finest ceramics, the permittivity reduces below 1000 and a remarkable nonhysteretic linear dc-tunability [ε(E)] is obtained at high field, above 40 kV/cm. The observed behavior was explained by considering the nanostructured ceramic as a composite formed by ferroelectric grains, whose nonlinearity is reducing, and by low-permittivity nonferroelectric grain boundaries, whose volume fraction increases when decreasing the grain size. Reducing the grain size in ferroelectric dense materials is an alternative route to accomplish the application requirements: nonhysteretic tunability and permittivity below 1000.