Phase evolution, sintering behavior, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of (1-x) mol Ba₃V₄O₁₃ - (x) mol BaV₂O₆ system were investigated. The sintered specimens of all compositions consisted of Ba₃V₄O₁₃ and BaV₂O₆, and no secondary phase was observed. As x increased, the linear shrinkage decreased to the composition of x=0.5, and then increased again, implying that Ba₃V₄O₁₃ and BaV₂O₆ phases interfered mutually with each other during sintering. All compositions showed a dense microstructure with a large grain growth. Cracks were observed in some compositions because of the relatively high sintering temperature of 620~640℃. As x increased, the dielectric constant increased, while the quality factor was maintained from about 50,000 GHz to about 70,000 GHz up to the composition of x=0.9, and then decreased to 20,987~27,180 GHz at the composition of x=1.0. As x increased, the temperature coefficient of the resonance frequency showed a (+) value from a (-) value. The dielectric constant, the quality factor, and the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency of x=0.7 composition sintered at 640℃ for 4 hours were 10.61, 71,126 GHz, and -4.9 ppm/℃, respectively. This composition showed a good chemical compatibility with Al powder, indicating that the Ba₃V₄O₁₃-BaV₂O₆ ceramics are a candidate material for ULTCC (Ultra-Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics) applications.

Phase evolution, thermal and microwave dielectric properties of cordierite-Al₂O₃ composite were investigated. As the content of Al₂O₃ increased, mullite, sapphirine, and spinel were formed as secondary phases, implying that cordierite may be decomposed by the reaction with Al₂O₃. All sintered specimens exhibited dense microstructures. The densification occurred through liquid phase sintering. As the content of Al₂O₃ increased, the thermal expansion coefficient and the dielectric constant increased, whereas the quality factor decreased. The thermal expansion coefficient, the dielectric constant, and the quality factor of the 90 wt% cordierite 10 wt% Al₂O₃ composite sintered at 1,425℃ were 2.9×10^-6 K^-1, 5.1, and 34,844 GHz, respectively.

This study investigated the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of lead-free 0.74(Bi_1/2Na_1/2)TiO3-0.26SrTiO₃ (BNST26) piezoelectric ceramics sintered using a microwave furnace. For comparison, specimens were also prepared using a conventional furnace sintering (CFS). Average grain sizes of 2.4 μm and 3.2 μm were obtained in the sample sintered at 1,100℃ for 5 min using microwave sintering (MWS) and at 1,175℃ for 2 h using CFS, respectively. To quantify the changes in the microstructures and electrical properties according to the sintering conditions, the polarization hysteresis, bipolar and unipolar strain curves, and temperature dependence of permittivity were evaluated. As a result, it was determined that the Pmax (maximum polarization), Pr (remanent polarization) and Smax (maximum strain) values tend to increase with the average grain size. Based on these results, it is concluded that the MWS method can produce lead-free ceramics with superior performance in a relatively short time compared to the conventional CFS method.

We investigated the phase evolution, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of Na- and Zr-doped Ba(Mg_0.5W_0.5)O₃ [i.e., (Ba_1-2xNa_2x)(Mg_0.5-xZr_xW_0.5)O₃] ceramics. BaWO₄ as a secondary phase was observed in all compositions, and it increased as the dopant concentration increased. All specimens revealed a dense microstructure. For the composition of x=0.01, polyhedral grains were observed. As the dopant concentration increased, the densification and the grain growth were promoted by a liquid phase. The quality factor(Q×f₀) decreased remarkably, whereas the dielectric constant (ε_r) tended to decrease as the dopant concentration increased. The dielectric constant, quality factor, and temperature coefficient of the resonant frequency of the composition of x=0.01 sintered at 1,700℃ for 1 h were 18.6, 216,275 GHz, and -22.0 ppm/℃, respectively.

With trend of the miniaturization and the high-functionalizing of mobile communication system, low-loss microwave dielectric materials are widely used for high frequency communication components. These dielectric materials should be co-sintered with highly electric-conducting metal such as silver or copper for high-frequency and thick film process application. Sintering temperature of Ca[(Li_1/3Nb_2/3)_1-xTi_x]O_3-δ, which has excellent dielectric properties such as ε_r above 40, quality factor (Q·f₀) above 16,000 GHz, and TCF (temperature coefficient of resonant frequency) of -20~-10 ppm/℃, is reported as high as 1,175℃, so it could not be co-sintered with silver or copper. Therefore in this study, low-temperature melting glasses of Zn-B-O and Zn-B-Si-O systems were added to Ca[(Li_1/3Nb_2/3)_1-xTi_x]O_3-δ to lower its sintering temperature under 900℃ without losing excellency of dielectric properties. With 15 weight % of Zn-B-Si-O glass and sintered at 875℃, specimen showed density of 4.11 g/cm³,ε _r of 40.1, Q·f₀ of 4,869 GHz, and TCF of -5.9 ppm/℃. With 15 weight % of Zn-B-O glass and sintered at 87 5℃, specimen showed density of 4.14 g/cm³, ε_r of 40.4, Q·f₀ of 7,059 GHz, and TCF of -0.92 ppm/℃.

A comparative study has been attempted for microwave and conventional sintering of lead-freeBi0.5Na0.5TiO3(BNT)-based multilayer ceramic actuators(MLAs). It was found that microwave sintering(MWS) could be successfully applied to the co-firing of piezoceramic/AgPd MLAs with a 10 timesshorter firing cycle as well as 100℃ lower firing temperature (850℃) for sufficient densification thanconventional furnace sintering (950℃). Furthermore, MWS-derived specimens showed better electricfield-induced strain than that of CFS-derived specimens by effectively suppressing interdiffusions betweenceramic and electrode layers.

PTFE composites for use of microwave substrate were fabricated by impregnation and heat treatment fabrication with glass fabric. This study shows dielectric properties such as dielectric constant and loss can be controlled by thickness of PTFE composite with of pressure condition in heating press process. The dielectric constant of the PTFE composites has decreasing tendency as given higher pressure condition. The dielectric loss has similar result too. Especially, the case of the dielectric loss was affected by the condition of pressure at heating press and had the best performance under 3 MPa. In order to see the reason why thickness conditions make different, their microstructures were also observed.

We investigated the physical properties of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric oxide doped complex perovskite, Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 ceramics and their impacts on the microwave dielectric performances using various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and network analyzer. According to the measurement of lattice constant changes, anomalous lattice volume contraction of ZrO2 doped Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 sample only showed the dielectric quality factor enhancements, which was due to the lattice volume contraction as well as the 1:2 B-site cation ordering. In addition, NiO doping was useful to the stabilization of temperature coefficient of resonance frequency.