Novel high-temperature antiferroelectric-based dielectric NaNbO ₃-NaTaO₃ solid solutions processed in low oxygen partial pressures

The (1-x)NaNbO₃-(x)NaTaO₃ solid solution was investigated for x ≤ 0.4 in terms of new high-temperature and high-permittivity dielectric system that is suitable for base metal inner electrode capacitor applications. The addition of Ta significantly enhanced the resistivity of the dielectric, resulting in superior resistivity than the dielectrics-formulated BaTiO₃ systems that dominate the multilayer ceramic capacitor dielectric devices. The voltage dependence of the permittivity was also superior to BaTiO₃-based materials, providing higher capacitance at higher temperatures. A transmission electron microscopy study illustrated that the grains had so-called core-shell structure. According to the electron diffraction analysis, the core region had an inhomogeneous structure between antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phases, and shell region had an incommensurate ferroelectric-like structure. The core and shell region had Nb- and Ta-rich composition, respectively, and their interface was compositionally sharp, implying that shell region was formed via a liquid phase during the sintering process with an incongruent Ta dissolution reprecipitation. We anticipate that these or similar materials based on the alkali-niobate perovskites can be further enhanced to provide capacitor solutions from 150°C to 250°C, which is an important range for a number of new AC-DC invertor and engine control units.