NaYW 2 O 8 : A novel glass-free microwave dielectric ceramic for LTCC application

Microwave dielectric ceramics are important materials for wireless communication devices because of their excellent dielectric properties. Tungstenate compounds with multiple scheelite structures can be used in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) devices because of their low densification temperature and high-quality factor. In this study, NaYW 2 O 8 ceramics (NYW) were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method at a low densification temperature below the Ag melting point. The microstructure, morphology and microwave dielectric properties of NYW ceramics were investigated, and the effects of packing fraction and lattice energy on microwave dielectric properties were studied. The results showed that the microwave dielectric properties of NYW ceramics were influenced by the grain size and porosity, and deteriorated with the increase of porosity. In addition, the stacking fraction and lattice energy shared a similar trend with the quality factor. The NYW ceramics sintered at 925 °C exhibited excellent microwave dielectric properties with ε r = 10.8, Q × f = 49,800 GHz (at 10.5 GHz), and τ f = −26.5 ppm/°C. In particular, the NYW ceramics were found to have an excellent chemical compatibility with Ag. The above results indicate the NYW ceramics are candidate in LTCC applications.