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Ultralow-loss and thermally stable Li4MgSn(2–1.25x)NbxO7 microwave dielectric ceramics

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Abstract

The Li4MgSn(2–1.25x)NbxO7 (L4MS-Nbx, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15) ceramics were prepared through a solid-state reaction method. The effects of Nb5+ substitution for Sn4+ on the phase composition, sintering behavior, and microwave dielectric properties were investigated systematically. The substitution of Nb5+ lowers the lattice thermal stability and declines the optimal sintering temperature of L4MS ceramics. The temperature at which the secondary phase occurs is lowered with increasing Nb5+ content owing to the promoted sintering behavior. The appearance of the secondary phase leads to the occurrence of cracks between grains. Moreover, the substitution of Nb5+ in L4MS causes Sn4+ vacancies, which increase the dielectric loss and therefore reduce Q × f values, and simultaneously leads to an increase in the dielectric polarizability, which makes τf move to near-zero values. As a result, excellent microwave dielectric properties of εr = 14, Q × f = 123,000 GHz (9.34 GHz), τf =  + 4.1 ppm/°C were obtained for the x = 0.11 ceramic sintered at 1125 °C for 6 h, showing large potentials in microwave devices.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (1508085JGD04) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Electro Ceramics & Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, People’s Republic of China

    Fang Qin, Shuang Zhang & Ruzhong Zuo

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  1. Fang Qin
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  2. Shuang Zhang
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Correspondence to Ruzhong Zuo.

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Qin, F., Zhang, S. & Zuo, R. Ultralow-loss and thermally stable Li4MgSn(2–1.25x)NbxO7 microwave dielectric ceramics. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 31, 5567–5572 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03121-3

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