Sintering Behaviors, Microstructure, and Microwave Dielectric Properties of CaTiO3–LaAlO3 Ceramics Using CuO/B2O3 Additions

Abstract
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.