Effect of Ni Substituted MgZrTa2O8 Ceramics on Sintering Characteristics and Microwave Dielectric Properties

Herein, Mg 1− x Ni x ZrTa 2 O 8 ( x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, 1) ceramics are synthesized using a solid-phase reaction method. Ni 2+ replacing Mg 2+ improves the drawback of high sintering temperature and poor temperature stability. The samples have a relative density above 95% at the optimal sintering temperature. The sintering temperature of Mg 1− x Ni x ZrTa 2 O 8 reduces from 1475 to 1400 °C. And single-phase Mg 1− x Ni x ZrTa 2 O 8 ceramics with monoclinic wolframite structures are analyzed. According to the Rietveld refinement results, with the doping of Ni 2+ , the transformation of unit cell volume leads to the shift of the main peak in the X-Ray diffraction pattern to a higher angle in 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3 and a lower angle in 0.5 ≤ x ≤ 1. The ε r of Mg 1− x Ni x ZrTa 2 O 8 is comparable to MgZrTa 2 O 8 . At 1400 °C, the Q × f is increased from 10 598 GHz in the undoped sample to 43 041 GHz in Mg 0.9 Ni 0.1 ZrTa 2 O 8 ceramic. The absolute values of τ f of ceramic samples decrease with the excessive Ni 2+ . The desirable dielectric properties ( ε r = 20.79, Q × f = 43 041 GHz, τ f = −33.04 ppm °C −1 ) are obtained at 1400 °C. Ni substitution is effective for MgZrTa 2 O 8 ceramic to optimize densification temperature and retain the high Q × f value.