Dielectric and infrared properties of SrTiO 3 single crystal doped by 3d (V, Mn, Fe, Ni) and 4f (Nd, Sm, Er) ions

In this study, the effects of doping by 3d (V, Mn, Fe, Ni) and 4f (Nd, Sm, Er) ions on dielectric and infrared properties of SrTiO3 (STO) single crystals are investigated. It is well known that doping of the SrTiO3 can change the dielectric properties of the STO from an insulator to an n-type semiconductor, and even to a metallic conductor. Dielectric and infrared (IR) properties of the undoped STO and doped STO single crystals are analyzed using dielectric spectroscopy (80 kHz-5 MHz), transmission (200 cm−1–4000 cm−1), and reflection spectroscopy (50 cm−1–2000 cm−1). It is found that doping by the 3d ions reduces the value of dielectric permittivity, but the trend of temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity remains almost unchanged. On the other hand, dielectric spectroscopy measurements for samples doped by 4f ions show the anomalous behaviors of the dielectric permittivity at temperatures around the temperature of the structural phase transition. There are two fractures of temperature dependences of inverse dielectric permittivity εr−1(T). Transmittance spectroscopy measurements show that there are differences in the shape of the spectrum in the mid-IR region between the undoped STO and the one doped by 4f ions. The differences in the reflectance spectrum between the STO:Nd and STO are analyzed in detail.