Zr ⁴⁺ Effects on the Dielectric Properties of (Er+Ta) Co‐Doped TiO ₂

A comprehensive study on how Zr ⁴⁺ affects co‐doped TiO ₂ was conducted by the solid‐state reaction method. ZrO ₂ impurity was artificially added into (Er+Ta) co‐doped TiO ₂ (ETTO) ceramic to simulate the high‐energy ball‐milling process. It was found that the addition of Zr ⁴⁺ significantly improved the dielectric properties of ETTO ceramic. The dielectric constant was maximally increased from 1.2 × 10 ⁴ to 1.6 × 10 ⁴ at 10 ⁵ Hz, while the dielectric loss decreased to about 0.02. A hypothesis regarding the role of Zr ⁴⁺ was proposed. Meanwhile, through comparison with equal doping levels of Zr, Ta, and Er, the hypothesis was further supported. It is proposed that Zr ⁴⁺ doping replaces the Ti ³⁺ created during donor–acceptor co‐doping, altering the crystal lattice to facilitate Er ³⁺ dissolution, ultimately improving the dielectric properties of the co‐doped TiO ₂ .