Effect of Laser Irradiation on the PTCR Behavior of Semiconducting Barium Strontium Titanate Ceramics

This paper examines the effect of pulsed laser irradiation on the electrical properties of n-type semiconductor ferroelectric ceramics (based on a (Ba,Sr)TiO3 solid solution) with a planar contact configuration. The elemental compositions and surface morphologies of the material before and after laser irradiation are compared using scanning electron microscopy data. In the framework of the well-known Heywang model for the positive temperature coefficient of resistance effect, we calculate the resistance of the material as a function of temperature for the paraelectric phase and determine parameters of grain boundaries that ensure good agreement between the experimental data and theoretical curves.