A novel Ba₃(ZnB₅O₁₀)PO₄ microwave dielectric ceramic with near-zero _f value for LTCC applications

A novel Ba3(ZnB5O10)PO4 (BZBPO) phosphate ceramic was synthesised using a conventional solid-state technology. The BZBPO ceramic sintered at 850 degrees C demonstrated exceptional microwave dielectric properties: epsilon(r )= 5.88 +/- 0.08, Qxf = 52,896 +/- 1200 GHz (tau(f) = 16.5 GHz) and of = 0.34 +/- 0.25 ppm/degrees C. Raman spectroscopy revealed that er and Qxf were negatively correlated with the Raman shift and full width at half maximum of the BZBPO ceramic, respectively. Meanwhile, Phillips-Vechten-Levine theory revealed that Q x f was highly correlated with the lattice energy (Ub), and of was closely related to the bond energy (E-b) and the thermal expansion coefficient. Among contribution ratios of individual chemical bonds, the B-O bond mainly contributed to U-b, E-b and ionicity, proving that the bond dominantly affected the dielectric properties of the BZBPO ceramic. Finally, the BZBPO ceramic was co-fired with silver, demonstrating its potential applicability towards low temperature co-fired ceramic technology.