Abstract
The effect of Er2O3 and MgO addition on the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 ceramics was studied in a reduced atmosphere. MgO effectively prevented the material from being reduced and suppressed grain growth. An X7R material with moderate temperature dependence was developed by the addition of MgO with higher than 2.0 mol% Er2O3 to BaTiO3, which is ascribed to the decrease in grain size and the grain core-grain shell structure. In the presence of equimolar amount of B-site metal ions, there was no evidence to support the incorporation of Er ions into the octahedral and dodecahedral cation sites.