A novel thermally stable low-firing LiMg4V3O12 ceramic: Sintering characteristic, crystal structure and microwave dielectric properties

A novel thermally stable low-firing microwave dielectric ceramic with the composition of LiMg4V3O12 was prepared by the solid state reaction method. The phase structure, sintering characteristic and microwave dielectric properties of ceramic were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and dielectric measurement. The LiMg4V3O12 samples contain tetragonal Li2xMg1.5-xVO4 (0.1 <= x <= 0.15) and orthorhombic LiMgVO4 phases. The ceramic can be well densified at 740 degrees C for 4 h and exhibits good microwave dielectric properties with epsilon(r) =10.7, Q x f = 24,000 GHz (at 9.65 GHz) and tau(f) = 11.7 ppm/degrees C. Good microwave dielectric properties and ultralow-firing temperature indicate that LiMg4V3O12 ceramic is a suitable candidate of low-firing ceramics for applications in wireless communication system. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.