The effect of CuO/B2O3 additions on the sintering behaviors, microstructures, and microwave dielectric properties of 0.95LaAlO3-0.05CaTiO3 ceramics is investigated. It is found that the sintering temperatures are lowered efficiently from 1600 °C to 1350 °C, as 1 wt % CuO, 1 wt % B2O3, and 0.5 wt % CuO +0.5 wt % B2O3 are used as the sintering aids due to the appearance of the liquid phase sintering. The microwave dielectric properties of 0.95LaAlO3-0.05CaTiO3 ceramics with the sintering aid additions are strongly related to the densification and the microstructure of the sintered ceramics. At the sintering temperature of 1300 °C, the 0.95LaAlO3-0.05CaTiO3 ceramic with 0.5 wt % CuO + 0.5 wt % B2O3 addition shows the best dielectric properties, including a dielectric constant (εr) of 21, approximate quality factor (Q × f) of 22,500 GHz, and a temperature coefficient of the resonant frequency (τf) of -3 ppm/°C.
Keywords: ceramics; density; dielectric properties; microwave.