Preferred grain orientation relationships in sintered perovskite ceramics

Sintered BaTiO3, SrTiO3, and Pb(ZrTi1-x)O-3 ceramics were examined using orientation imaging microscopy (OIM (TM)), which is a system for the automated measurement of grain orientations by evaluating electron backscatter diffraction patterns in scanning electron microscopy. As expected for sintered materials, none of the three materials exhibited a pronounced texture. However, analysis of the orientation relationships (ORs) between adjacent grains revealed a statistically significant preference of Sigma = 3 ORs. Accordingly, the boundaries between grains with a Sigma = 3 OR were particularly important for the macroscopic properties of the materials in question.