ZrSiO4 ceramics for microwave integrated circuit applications

The sintering temperature of ZrSiO4 ceramic was optimized by studying the variation of density as a function of temperature. The dielectric properties were investigated at the radio and microwave frequencies. It has epsilon(r) = 10.5, tan delta = 0.0016 (at 1 MHz), epsilon(r) = 7.4, tan delta = 0.0006 (at 5.15 C,Hz) and tau(epsilon) = 225 ppm/degrees C (at I MHz). The ceramic exhibited a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of -2.4 ppm/degrees C in the temperature range of 30-800 degrees C. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.