Influence of samarium doping on structural and dielectric properties of strontium bismuth tantalate ceramics derived by molten salt synthesis route

Layered Sr(Bi1-xSmx)(2)Ta2O9 ceramics with x ranging from 0 to 0.10 (10 mol%) were fabricated by the low temperature molten salt synthesis route. X-ray powder diffraction studies revealed that the single phase orthorhombic layered perovskite structure is retained in all these compositions. Scanning electron microscopic studies on these ceramics confirmed the presence of well packed equiaxed plate shaped grains. The dielectric and electrical conductivity properties were studied in the 100 Hz-1 MHz frequency range at 300 K. Interestingly, the 10 mol% samarium doped SrBi2Ta2O9 ceramics exhibited high dielectric constant (epsilon(r) = 155) and low dielectric loss (0.00298) compared to those of other compositions. The electrical conductivity of undoped and samarium doped ceramics increased linearly with increase in frequency.