  High performance lead-free multiferroic composites are desired to replace the
lead-based ceramics in multifunctional devices applications. Laminated
compounds were prepared from ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials. In this
work, we present laminated ceramics compound by considering the ferromagnetic
La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 (LCMO) and the ferroelectric BaTi0.8Sn0.2O3 (BTSO) in two
different proportions. Compounds (1-x) LCMO-(x) BTSO with x=1 and 0 (pure
materials) were synthesized by the sol gel method and x=0.7 and 0.5 (laminated)
compounds were elaborated by welding appropriate mass ratios of each pure
material by using the silver paste technique. Structural, dielectric,
ferroelectric, microstructure and magnetic characterization were conducted on
these samples. X-ray scattering results showed pure perovskite phases
confirming the successful formation of both LCMO and BTSO. SEM images evidenced
the laminated structure and good quality of the interfaces. The laminated
composite materials have demonstrated a multiferroic behavior characterized by
the ferroelectric and the ferromagnetic hysteresis loops. Furthermore, the
enhancement of the dielectric constant in the laminated composite samples is
mainly attributed to the Maxwell-Wagner polarization.
