Dielectric properties of BST/MZO ceramic composites

Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3/Mg1−xZnxO (MZO, x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) ceramic composites were prepared by traditional ceramic processing. The crystal structure, fracture surface morphology, and dielectric properties were investigated. The samples with x = 0, 0.05 and 0.10 exhibited favorable sintering behavior, and homogeneous diphase microstructure was obtained. Nevertheless, the microstructure of the samples with x = 0.15 and 0.20 was inhomogeneous and abnormal grain growth could be observed, and the abnormal grain growth induced the degradation of dielectric strength. The sample with x = 0.10 has relatively low dielectric loss (1.26×10−3) and the optimal FOM value (about 174).