Sintering behavior and microwave dielectric properties of LMZBS glass doped Li3Mg4NbO8 ceramics for LTCC applications

Li 3 Mg 4 NbO 8  ceramics with  x  wt% of Li 2 O–MgO–ZnO–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2  glass (Li 3 Mg 4 NbO 8 -LMZBS x ,  x  = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0) were prepared by the traditional solid-state reaction method. Rietveld refinement and Raman spectra were adopted for crystal structure studies. Based on the experimental results, it is suggested that the permittivity ( ε r ) and the quality factor ( Q × f ) were mainly associated with the extrinsic factors; while the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ f ) was inversely proportional to the octahedral distortion of Li–O bond and directly proportional to the octahedral distortion of Nb–O bond. Among all the specimens, the sample of  x  = 1.5 sintered at 950 °C for 5 h exhibited excellent microwave dielectric properties:  ε r  = 14.16 ,   Q  ×  f  = 109,704 GHz (at 9.6 GHz), τ f  = − 31 ± 1 ppm/°C. In addition, good chemical compatibility between the ceramic matrix and Ag electrode also suggested that the Li 3 Mg 4 NbO 8 -LMZBS x  ceramic system is potential for low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) applications.