Diffuse dielectric anomaly in ferroelectric materials

Abstract

It has not been clear whether the diffuse dielectric anomaly by Debye-type dielectric relaxation is extrinsic or intrinsic in origin although it has been frequently found in ferroelectric materials regardless of their structures and ferroelectric properties. We experimentally investigated the extrinsic nature of the diffuse dielectric anomaly in ferroelectric oxides and sulfide such as BaTiO3, Pb0.9La0.1TiO3, and SnP2S6. The advanced fitting method using the modified Debye relaxation equation was introduced in order to explain the temperature dependent behavior of the diffuse dielectric anomaly. It was confirmed that the diffuse dielectric anomaly was a competitive phenomenon between the dielectric relaxation and the electrical conduction of the relaxing species. It was also proved that the activation energy of the dielectric relaxation should be always higher than the conductivity activation energy of the relaxing species in the diffuse dielectric anomaly.