Mn-Doped BaTiO₃ Ceramics: Thermal and Electrical Properties for Multicaloric Applications

Abstract

Multiferroic materials are widely used in microelectronics because they are sensitive to elastic, magnetic, and electric fields and there is an intrinsic coupling between them. In particular, transition metal-doped BaTiO3 is considered as a viable multiferroic because of the simultaneous presence of ferroelectricity and magnetism. In this work, we study the electrical and thermal properties of Mn-doped BaTiO3 ceramics that can be used for multicaloric applications. We found that Mn doping leads to the broadening and shifting of the phase transition accompanied with simultaneous decrease of latent heat and entropy. Mn doping causes a decrease in the bulk resistivity while contact resistance remains intact. Doped ceramics can withstand high electric fields (up to 40 kV/cm) and exhibit linear I-V characteristics followed by the Schottky limited current in contrast to earlier observations. As such, these ceramics are promising for multicaloric applications.

Keywords

• batio₃
• electrocalorics
• magnetocalorics
• phase transition
• specific heat