Microwave dielectric properties and chemical compatibility with silver electrode of Li2TiO3 ceramic with Li2O-ZnO-B2O3 glass additive

The effects of Li2O-ZnO-B2O3 (LZB) glass additive on the sintering behavior, phase composition, microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of Li2TiO3 (LT) ceramics have been investigated. The addition of a small amount of LZB glass can reduce the sintering temperature of LT ceramics from 1150 degrees C to 900 degrees C without obvious degradation of the microwave dielectric properties. Only a single-phase Li2TiO3 is formed in LT ceramic with LZB glass addition sintered at 900 degrees C for 2 h. Typically, the 2.5 wt% LZB glass-added LT ceramic sintered at 900 degrees C for 2 h can reach a maximum relative density of 94.8% of the theoretical density and exhibits good microwave dielectric properties of epsilon(r) = 22.9, Q(f) = 59,600 GHz and tau(f) = +23.7 ppm/degrees C. The XRD, SEM and EDX analyses showed that the ceramic can be co-fired well with Ag electrode, which may be applied for LTCC application. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.