Ordered Domains and Microwave Properties of Sub-micron Structured Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 Ceramics Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

The degree of Zn2+ and Ta5+ ions ordering could play an important role in the dielectric loss in Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 (BZT) ceramics. However, the influence of the grain size of Ba(B′1/3B″2/3)O3 ceramics with nano or sub-micron grains on the ordering domains structure is still not clear. In the present paper, highly dense (~98%) BZT microwave dielectric ceramics with homogeneous sub-micron structure (~330 nm) were prepared through spark plasma sintering (SPS). High resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD)clearly showed that the B-site ordering structure of sintered BZT samples by SPS becomes the B-site long-range 1:2 ordering as annealing proceeds. In contrast, the short-range 1:2 ordering in non-annealed counterparts was also present, which was not detectable by XRD. The size of B-site ordering domains enlarged with annealing temperature. The sub-micron structure of sintered BZT ceramics by SPS remained stable at up to 1400 C; however, the size of B-site 1:2 ordering domain was more than five times larger, which led to a significant increase of the quality factor (Q·f) to 37,700 GHz from 15,000 GHz.

Intrinsic Dielectric Loss in Zr0.8Sn0.2TiO4 Ceramics Investigated by Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy

“…[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Even though a large number of dielectrics with suitable properties have been reported [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], their mass production is restricted due to the manufacturing costs and technological limitations. As a consequence, ceramic materials became the most employed in passive MW devices due to the simplicity, cost effectiveness, and scalability of their large-scale fabrication.…”

Crystal Structures and Microwave Dielectric Properties of Novel MgCu2Nb2O8 Ceramics Prepared by Two-Step Sintering Technique

“…They are new functional ceramic materials developed in the last 20 years and are also the critical material for the production of microwave resonators and dielectric filters [3][4][5]. Microwave dielectric ceramics have attracted great attention because of their exceptional features, such as their high-quality, low microwave loss, and stable temperature performance [6,7]. Based on the original microwave ferrite, many researchers have greatly improved the formula and manufacturing process of microwave dielectric ceramics [8].…”

Microwave and Terahertz Properties of Spark-Plasma-Sintered Zr0.8Sn0.2TiO4 Ceramics

“…Moreover, by creating various shapes [26], it is possible to tailor the functionality of the sintered materials. Over time, SPS has been successfully used to sinter various materials [22][23][24][25][26], including MW dielectrics [27][28][29][30]. However, no study regarding the MW dielectric properties of spark-plasma-sintered ZST materials has yet been reported.…”