Characterization of metal (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) and fluorine codoped barium strontium titanate thick-films for microwave applications

The influence of codoping of Fe, Co, Ni, Cu as acceptors and F as donor on the dielectric properties of screen-printed Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)TiO(3) ceramic thick-films has been investigated. The undoped and codoped Ba(0.6)Sr(0.4)TiO(3) powders were synthesized through a sol-gel route. The thermal gravimetric analysis revealed the difference of the thermal decomposition behaviour between the undoped and codoped precursors. The ceramic powders were characterized with x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and BET measurements. Larger crystallite sizes of the codoped powders were observed. The densification behaviour of the powders was recorded by dilatometry and indicated that codoping influences the sintering mechanism. The permittivity, dielectric loss and tunability of the undoped and codoped thick-films were characterized with coplanar waveguide structures up to 30 GHz.