Effect of dopant (Nb) concentration on the grain boundary electrical properties of Nb-doped barium titanate

A series of coarse-grained BaTiO3 specimens with different dopant (Nb) concentrations were prepared by adjusting the oxygen partial pressure during sintering. They were again heat-treated in air, and the behavior of the grain boundary electrical properties with the increase of Nb concentration was investigated under the conditions of the same microstructure and heat treatment. The interface states of the grain boundaries were estimated using the grain boundary R (resistance) and C (capacitance) values at each temperature that were obtained from impedance analysis. An increase in the interface state density at certain energy levels with increasing Nb concentration was verified experimentally. One type of interface state was observed for specimens with low Nb concentrations and another for specimens with high Nb concentrations. It is proposed that the changes in the interface state with increasing Nb concentration are related to the transition of the compensating defect mode and differences in the extent of oxygen adsorption at the grain boundaries.