Influence of Ba-Zn-B additives on the sintering behavior and dielectric properties of BaNd2Ti4O12 ceramics

The BaNd2Ti4O12 (BNT) solid solution containing composite additives Ba-Zn-B (BZB) were prepared as a low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC). The 20 wt.% addition of BZB to BNT significantly lowered the sintering temperature from 1450 degrees C to 900 degrees C without secondary phase formation. The sintering properties of the low-temperature sintered BNT with additives were investigated using dilatometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Liquid phase was formed in the highly doped ceramics. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) results further confirmed that the material was single phase which is consistent with the X-ray diffractometer (XRD) results. The specimen doped with 20 wt.% BZB sintered at 900 degrees C for 0.5 h shows excellent dielectric properties: Qxf=3234 GHz, epsilon(r)=63.2 and tau(f)=-10.9 ppm/degrees C. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.