The effects of B2O3 on the microstructure and properties of lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramics for LTCC applications

Lithium aluminosilicate glass-ceramics were prepared using melt-quenching method. B2O3 was added into glass-ceramics as sintering aids. The effects of B2O3 addition and sintering temperature on the microstructure, phase composition, dielectric properties, thermal and mechanical properties and densification of glass-ceramics were investigated. The addition of B2O3 lowered the sintering temperature of the glass-ceramics from 950 to 800 degrees C, and improved the bending strength from 97 to 195 MPa. The coefficient of thermal expansion of materials increased with the increasing sintering temperature and B2O3 content. The results show that B2O3 is helpful to densification sintering of glass-ceramics. The samples with 3 wt% B2O3 sintered at 800 degrees C showed epsilon(r) of 7.2, tan delta of 1.4 x 10(-3), bending strength of 195 MPa, and CTE of 2.67 x 10(-6) K-1. The results indicated that the LAS glass-ceramic can be a possible candidate for LTCC substrate applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.