Dielectric relaxation and conduction in the system Ba1-xLaxSn1-xCrxO3

Attempts have been made to synthesize the solid solution, Ba1-xLaxSn1-xCrxO 3 for x less than or equal to 0.20 and study its electrical behavior. It ha s been found that a single phase solid solution forms for compositions up t o x less than or equal to 0.10. The structure remains cubic. Grain size of the samples decreases with increasing x. Dielectric relaxation in these mat erials is attributed to reorientation of dipoles due to hopping of electron s among various oxidation states of Sn ions around oxygen vacancies. Using complex plane impedance analysis, it has been confirmed that dielectric rel axation and conduction occur by the same process. (C) 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.