Clarifying the origins of the low-temperature dielectric anomaly in BaZrO3

The proposed experiments will help to elucidate the origins of the dielectric anomaly in the cubic perovskite BaZrO3. This material finds use in proton-conducting fuel cells and microwave dielectrics. Recent studies demonstrated that the dielectric losses in BaZrO3 can be reduced dramatically by doping it with Nb and Ga, thus making the resulting material attractive for use in dielectric resonators for wireless communications. The observed drop in the losses has been correlated with the disappearance of the low-temperature dielectric anomalies which occur in pure BaZrO3; however, the atomistic mechanisms that underlie these anomalies remained uncertain. The proposed study aims to close this knowledge gap.