Significantly enhanced reliability in defect-engineered BaTi1-xMgxO3 ceramics

BaTiO 3 -based ceramic is considered to be a fascinating dielectric material with high reliability for ultra-thin multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC). Here, we fabricated a series of acceptor-doped BaTiO 3 (Mg: 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 5.0 mol%) ceramics with Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 as sintering additives. With an increase in Mg concentration, the insulation resistance of the BaTi 1- x Mg x O 3 ceramics initially increases and then decreases, in which the 0.5 mol% Mg-doped ceramic achieves superior degradation behavior. The reason is that with the incorporation of the acceptor ion Mg 2+ , the charge compensation mechanism in the system changes. Initially, barium vacancy is generated, which is gradually dominated by oxygen vacancy . Analysis indicates that the segregation of the acceptor state barium vacancy to the grain boundary increases the schottky barrier of the grain boundary, while the gradual increase of the donor state oxygen vacancy reduces the reliability of the ceramic. This study provides a comprehensive overview illustrating the significant role of point defects in the potential barrier of the grain boundary in acceptor-doped BaTiO 3 ceramics. It identifies a pathway to achieve high reliability in BaTiO 3 -based MLCC.