Low temperature sintering and microwave dielectric properties of Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramics doped with ZnO-La2O3-B2O3 glass

Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramics doped with ZnO-La2O3-B2O3 glass were prepared by the conventional solid-state ceramic route. The effects of the ZnO-La2O3-B2O3 glass on the sintering temperature, phase composition, microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramics were investigated. The addition of ZLB glass can reduce the sintering temperature of Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramic from 1075 degrees C to 925 degrees C without obvious degradation of the microwave dielectric properties. Only a single phase Li2ZnTi3O8 with cubic spinel structure is formed in Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramic with ZLB addition sintered at 925 degrees C. Typically, 1.0 wt% ZLB-doped Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramic sintered at 925 degrees C can reach a maximum relative density of 95.8% and exhibits good microwave dielectric properties of epsilon(r)=24.34, Q x f=41,360 GHz and tau(f)=-13.4 ppm/degrees C. Moreover, this material is compatible with Ag electrode, which makes it a promising candidate for LTCC application. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.