The effects of excess Bi2O3 and heating rate in stabilizing the BFO phase in calcined
powders were investigated. Heating rate was found to be an important processing parameter
for forming the pure phase BFO. The ceramic samples containing different Bi2O3 were
fabricated by a solid-state reaction technique. Pure phase BFO was observed for the 0–3 wt%
ceramic samples. Excess Bi2O3 produced an improvement in dielectric constant. Further,
the ferroelectric behavior was also improved by excess Bi2O3.