Dielectric behavior of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 single crystals

In this article, we report the successful growth of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 (x=0.05 -0.2) single-crystal fibers by the laser-heated pedestal growth technique. A single-phase perovskite structure of the materials has been identified by the x-ray diffraction technique. The phase diagram for Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O-3 sin gle crystals is established for x less than or equal to 0.2. Dielectric pro perties as function of temperature and frequency and room-temperature hyste resis loops are measured. The remnant polarization (P-r) and coercive field s (E-c) are obtained and compared for both single crystals and ceramics. Th e small dielectric relaxation has been observed for the lower-temperature p hase transition (around 40 degrees C at 1 kHz) of the sample with x=0.08. T he relaxation times follow the Arrhenius law with tau(0)=0.4x10(-13) s and E-relax=0.53 eV. A common feature of the low-temperature relaxation mode in the sample is also observed, which follows the Arrhenius law with the tau( 0)=0.8x10(-10) s and E-relax=0.46 eV. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physic s. [S0021-8979(00)00313-3].