Aging Effect on Lanthanum Doped Ferroelectric Lead Titanate Ceramics

Ferroelectric devices are widely applied in many fields, such as energy conversion and communication. The aging effect in ferroelectric materials plays a central role in the reliability of the related equipments. But it is very difficult to understand the origin of aging effect in ferroelectrics because these materials possess different defects and exhibit various aging behavior. The reverse transition temperature in lead titanate doped with lanthanum increases during aging at ferroelectric phase was reported. It is well known that lattice defects, such as vacancies and solute atoms, are ubiquitous in crystalline solids. These point defects affect physical properties in ferroelectrics significantly. The abnormal increase of the reverse transition temperature was discussed in terms of diffusion of point defects during aging. Dielectric performance in the material after aging was measured and discussed as well.