Sm-induced multifunctionality and poling effect on luminescence of Sm-doped (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 piezoceramics
The lead-free multifunctional ceramics Sm3+-doped (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 were synthesized via conventional sintering. The influences of Sm3+ concentration on phase structure, grain size, Curie temperature, ferro-/piezoelectric properties, as well as photoluminescence (PL) performances of the ceramics have been investigated. The results show that with the Sm3+ concentration of 0.4[Formula: see text]mol%, the integrated optoelectronic performances are best. In order to further study the relationship between ferroelectric and PL features, the poling effect on PL intensities of the ceramics has been focused on, giving the highest enhancement factors of 52.6% induced by both lattice distortion and phase transformation. The electric poling is an effective route to enhance the PL performance of luminescent ferroelectrics.