Low-temperature-sintering characteristic and microwave dielectric properties of (Zn0.7Mg0.3)TiO3 ceramics with LBSCA glass

(Zn0.7Mg0.3)TiO3 (ZMT) powders were synthesized by a traditional solid-state preparation process. Meanwhile, the effects of adding Li2O-B2O3-SiO2-CaO-Al2O3 (LBSCA) glass on the microstructure, phase formation, and microwave dielectric properties of ZMT ceramic were investigated. The LBSCA glass as a sintering agent can effectively reduce the sintering temperature of ZMT ceramic from 1100 degrees C to 900 degrees C, which can be attributed to its liquid-phase effect. Only 0.5 wt% LBSCA-doping contributed to a 20.2% increase in relative density. XRD patterns indicated that ZnTiO3 was the major crystalline phase. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated that low LBSCA-doping (<= 2.5 wt%) promoted the grain densification and uniformity of specimens. A dense microstructure with uniform grain size could be obtained with 1 wt% LBSCA and sintered at 900 degrees C. The ceramic also exhibited excellent microwave dielectric properties: epsilon(r)=21.6; Q x f = 62,000 GHz; and tau(f)=-60 ppm/degrees C. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.