Diffusion and solubility of holmium ions in barium titanate ceramics

Ho ion solubility and diffusivity were evaluated in barium titanate ceramics in which Ho ions were implanted with an accelerating voltage of 500 keV. The depth profile of the ions was composed of three regions in the post-annealed sample: the first was the precipitation region, the second was a region created by lattice diffusion of Ho ions, and the third was a region created by grain-boundary diffusion. The Ho lattice diffusion characteristics were similar to those of Ni ion diffusion in barium titanate ceramics, and we concluded that the diffusion mechanism was the same as that responsible for Ni ions. The Ho ions diffused through the B-site (Ti-site) and were then exchanged with A-site ions. This mechanism suggests that a small number of Ho ions dissolved in the B-site. Preferential grain-boundary diffusion was also observed. The grain-boundary diffusion coefficients were four to five orders of magnitude larger than the volume diffusion coefficients. The solubility of Ho ions was estimated to be a few thousand parts per million in barium titanate ceramics.