Improved piezoelectricity and luminescence of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped (K, Na)NbO₃ ceramics by microwave sintering

ABSTRACT

Yb₂O₃ doped (K,Na)NbO₃-0.5% Er₂O₃ (KNNEr) ceramics with the composition around the morphotropic phase boundary was synthesized by microwave sintering. KNN co-doped Yb₂O₃/Er₂O₃ ceramics exhibited enhanced ferroelectric, piezoelectric properties owing to the donor doping effect. The optimal performance of d₃₃ = 115 pC/N, k_p = 0.37, ϵ_r = 620 and tanδ = 4.9% were obtained for the ceramics with the addition of 0.25 mol% Yb₂O₃. And the green and red up-conversion emission intensities of these ceramics excited under 980 nm increased with the increasing content of Yb₂O_3. The results suggest that the KNNEr-Yb₂O₃ ceramics have potential application as a multifunctional device by integrating its excellent electrical and luminescence properties.

KEYWORDS:

• (K, Na)NbO₃ based ceramics
• microwave sintering
• Yb doping
• piezoelectricity
• luminescence

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51502133), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20140945).