Dielectric investigations in unconventionally processed TbMnO3 ceramics

TbMnO3 ceramics with enhanced dielectric properties were synthesized by an innovative route combining high-energy ball milling and hot-forging sintering. Dielectric investigations reveal the presence of two distinct relaxation processes: one thermally activated mostly due to dipolar effects and other related to the movement of polar clusters or electric dipoles. Long-range polar order was not achieved, as ferroelectricity in TbMnO3 is strongly dependent on the crystallographic direction. A distribution of relaxation times indicates a cooperative response of the electric dipoles.