Volume 29 (2011): Issue 1 (March 2011)

The structure and dielectric properties of perovskite Ag(Nb0.8Ta0.2)O3 ceramics were explored. A small amount of Bi2O3 was used to modify the dielectric properties of the ceramics. The addition of Bi2O3 led the ceramics to a high densification and optimal dielectric properties. With the addition of 4.5 wt% Bi2O3, the permittivity of Ag(Nb0.8Ta0.2)O3 ceramics increased from 470 to 733, the dielectric loss decreased from 62×10−4 to 6.7×10−4, and the temperature coefficient of capacitance, TCC, decreased from 2004 ppm/°C to −50 ppm/°C. The high permittivity obtained was due to the high densification and weak Ta-O or Nb-O bond strength in the oxygen octahedron that results from the addition of Bi2O3.

The 0.935(Bi0.5Na0.5) TiO3 -0.065BaTiO3 (abbreviated as BNT6.5BT) lead-free ceramics were prepared by conventional solid state sintering technique. The effects of sintering temperature (1150–1200 °C) and poling condition on its piezoelectric properties were examined. Piezoelectric properties like the piezoelectric constant (d33) and electromechanical factors (kp, kt) depend on the poling field and poling temperature, whereas different poling times, in the 5–30 min range, were not observed to have any significant effect on the piezoelectric properties. With respect to piezoelectric properties, the chosen sintering temperature range is suitable for BNT6.5BT ceramics.

In this study, a composite containing WC (Tungsten Carbide) and Ni was produced by two different processing routes. Electroless Ni coated WC powders were consolidated and sintered at 1200 °C. Diffusion bonding couples of WC(Ni)-electrolytic Cu, WC(Ni)-AISI 316 stainless steel and WC(Ni)-WC(Ni) were manufactured by using a preloaded compression system under Ar atmosphere. Diffusion bonding was carried out at varying bonding temperatures; 750 °C for (WC)Ni-Cu diffusion couple and 1200 °C for (WC)Ni-(WC)Ni and (WC)Ni-AISI 316 stainless steel diffusion couples. Standard metallographic techniques, Scanning Electron Microscopy and a shear test were employed to characterize the microstructure of bondline and mechanical properties of each diffusion couple, respectively.

In this work, TiO2 and TiO2-SiO2 thin films on glass substrates were prepared by the sol-gel dip coating process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the structural and chemical properties of the films. The super-hydrophilicity was assessed by water contact angle measurement. XRD measurements confirmed the presence of polycrystalline anatase and rutile phases in the films. The water contact angle measurements showed that addition of SiO2 has a significant effect on the super-hydrophilicity of TiO2 thin films, especially if they are stored in a dark place.

The effect of LiF and CBS glass additives on the microstructure and dielectric property of BaTiO3 (BT) ceramics was studied. The phase of BaLiF3 was observed from the interaction between BT and LiF when the samples were sintered at 900 °C for 1 h. Crystal grains with Ba and F in atomic ratios of 1:3 were observed from the SEM and TEM analysis of the microstructures. Abnormal grain growth (AGG) was observed to occur in the BT ceramics sintered at 950 °C. Further improvement to the composition was achieved by employing a two-stage process. This included CBS glass shell coating of the BT particles in the first stage, and the addition of LiF in the second stage. The composition thus formed had very good permittivity (1725) and an extremely low dielectric loss value (0.008).

In the present paper a novel group of electromagnetic metamaterials as well as the method of their fabrication is presented. The studied metamaterials are polymer composites and nanocomposites made of polymer matrix/host (ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene, polypropylene etc.) filled with copper flakes, of micrometer and/or nanometer size, as the conducting inclusions. The copper filler flakes were obtained by cathodic current pulse electrolysis from copper sulfate electrolytes at the stainless steel electrodes. SEM analysis showed that the morphology and structure of the copper deposit can be precisely controlled by applying different kind of current pulse and reversed current pulsed electrolysis. The polymer composite metamaterials formed by extrusion of small beads of polymer mixed with the copper flakes consisted of polymer matrix and copper flakes, ranging in length from 1 to 500 micrometers, and ranging in thickness from 80 nm to 2000 nm. The concentration of the copper flakes ranged from 0.5 wt% to 40 wt%, depending on the applications and required electromagnetic and mechanical properties. The studied materials were found to exhibit effective magnetic permeability that was smaller than unity, which is indicative of the typical properties of metamaterials. Present development solves technological and economical problems related to modern microelectronics methods which are currently mainly used for metamaterial fabrication.

Nondoped BiFeO3 (BFO) and doped Bi0.9La0.1Fe0.9Mn0.1O3 (BLFMO) thin films (d = 200–350 nm) were grown at 650–750 °C by RF sputtering on Si and SrTiO3(100), coated by conductive LaNiO3 films and La2/3Ca1/3MnO3/SrRuO3 bilayers. The complex dielectric permittivity of the films was measured at room temperature in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 10 GHz using parallel plate capacitor structures. Dielectric properties of the polycrystalline BFO films were compared with those of the epitaxial quality BLFMO films, and it was seen that the latter has better microwave performance than the former. The dielectric losses were below 0.05 at 1 GHz frequency, which may be acceptable for microwave applications.

Several types of multiphase ceramic materials with excellent microwave (MW) dielectric properties have been considered. Studied materials were based on complex niobates and titanates with various crystal structures in which very high values of the MW quality factors (Q) can be attained. Slight compositional changes in the complex oxide systems have been shown to induce rather combined effect on the cation arrangement of separate crystal phases as well as on the microstructure and phase composition of multiphase ceramic materials. As a consequence, the ways to tailor MW dielectric parameters of the ceramics through a proper adjustment of both structure and distribution of enclosed phases have been presented and discussed. The examples of the multiphase MW dielectrics with enhanced properties have also been presented.

Slight A-site deficiency in ordered perovskites Ba(M2+ 1/3Nb2/3)O3(M - Co, Zn, Mg) is shown to promote the formation of single-phase dense ceramics, in which the microwave (MW) quality factor Q attains its maximum values. Any further decrease in the Ba concentration in Ba(M2+ 1/3Nb2/3)O3 always results in the formation of a multiphase material containing secondary phase with the tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) structure. The amount of TTB phase in the perovskite matrix was found to depend on both the Ba concentration and the sintering temperature. The composition and properties of the TTB phase are discussed in terms of their effect on the MW dielectric parameters of Ba(M2+ 1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics.

Dielectric property of Cu/polymer thermoplastic composites was measured in high frequencies up to 1 GHz. Generally relative permittivity and dielectric loss of the composites increased as the increasing metal inclusion loading as the percolation theory predicts. The incorporation of the copper inclusion with surface antirust layer raised relative permittivity of the composite from 2.3 to 21.3 at the loading level of 39.3 vol. % at 500 MHz. When copper oxide layer was introduced to the filler surface, estimated increase of relative permittivity was ca. 25 %. Since metal composites with ordered structure would raise the relative permittivity of the composites, the cause of this increase in relative permittivity in the present study can be attributable to reduced compatibility of the filler surface and the polymer matrix which lowers randomness of particle distribution. On the other hand, dielectric loss of the composite with surface oxidized Cu powder was increased by ca. 50 % compared to that of the anti-rusted powder composite. This would be caused by skin effect that part of the induced current flows through the less conductive surface oxide layer.

The electrical properties of deep-level defects in real packaged SiC Schottky barrier rectifiers were studied by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). One deep-level trap with an activation energy in the 0.29–0.30 eV range was revealed to be present in all the tested samples. The electrical characteristics of the trap indicate it is probably attributed to dislocations or to metastable defects, which can be responsible for discrepancies observed in I-V characteristics (see Ref. [2]).