Investigation of Sr1-xCaxTiO3 ceramics dedicated to high-frequency lead-free components

Abstract

Lead–free Sr[Formula: see text]CaxTiO3 ([Formula: see text]) ceramics were synthesized via a solid state reaction technique at room temperature. The effects of ionic substitutions in A-sites between strontium and calcium on the structural and dielectric properties were investigated. XRD technique was used to identify the crystal structure and to demonstrate the phase purity. SEM observations have shown homogeneous morphologies for all samples. Dielectric measurements were investigated for a wide range of frequency (100[Formula: see text]Hz–1[Formula: see text]GHz) and temperature (25[Formula: see text]C–250[Formula: see text]C). Strontium substitution by calcium has not only led to a decrease in the dielectric permittivity value, but also to the loss tangent value by a considerable factor. Interesting values of the quality factor and the quite constant value [Formula: see text] in extended frequency and temperature ranges show that SCT ceramic could be a real candidate for the development of monolithic ceramic capacitors dedicated to high-frequency lead-free components and/or to extremely high-temperature environments.