Enhanced dielectric properties of low-temperature-sintered Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thick films

Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ thick films were fabricated at a lower temperature of 880°C by adding Li₂O as sintering aid. A novel pretreatment of cold isostatic pressing was introduced to enhance the quality of films. After cold isostatic pressing prior to annealing, the thick film had a more compact morphology and better dielectric properties. The permittivity and tunability were increased to 1,318 and 19.04% from 925 and 14.81% while the dielectric loss was still kept low (1 MHz, 16 kV/cm). The enhanced properties and low-temperature sintering made BST thick films a potential candidate for Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) and microwave tunable devices.