Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Electronic Materials https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-021-09334-4 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Microwave Dielectric Properties of Ba 5 Li 2 W 3 O 15 Ceramic with Excess Lithium for Dielectric Resonator Antenna Application N. D. G. Souza 1  · D. V. M. Paiva 1  · S. E. Mazzetto 2  · M. A. S. Silva 3  · A. S. B. Sombra 3  · P. B. A. Fechine 1 Received: 6 July 2021 / Accepted: 5 November 2021 © The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2021 Abstract Ba 5 Li 2 W 3 O 15 (BLWO) electroceramics with diferent amounts of lithium carbonate (10–15%) were synthesized using the solid-state route. Powder x-ray difraction (PXRD) and Raman spectroscopy showed the presence of the BaWO 4 (BWO) phase in the samples. The excess lithium in the BLWO matrices contributed to an increase in the BWO phase and improved the thermal stability. Images obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed grains without a well-defned mor- phology and with a low porosity. The dielectric properties in the microwave (MW) range for the dielectric resonator based on BLWO were analysed by the Hakki–Coleman and Silva–Fernandes–Sombra methods. The near-zero temperature coef- fcient of resonant frequency (6.59 ppm°C −1 ) was obtained for the sample synthesized with 15% Li 2 CO 3 . Numerical studies based on the coefcient of refection (S 11 ) and impedance values of the BLWO-based dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) were also conducted. They agreed well with the experimental results, which indicates that this material can be applied as an antenna device in the MW range. | Keywords Ceramics · perovskite · dielectric resonator antennas · microwave frequencies Introduction The production of new materials used in the development of wireless communication systems, such as electronic components, flters, and oscillators, has increased consid- erably in recent years. 1,2 The need for miniaturization of these devices, which operate in the microwave (MW) range, has been highlighted; these devices can be designed for a wide range of applications, such as satellite communication systems that use dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs). 3,4 Therefore, dielectric materials that have a moderate dielec- tric constant (10 < ɛ r < 30), low dielectric loss (tan δ < 1 × 10 −3 ) or a high-quality factor (Q x f), and an almost zero temperature coefcient of resonant frequency (τ f ) have been reported in the literature to meet the requirements for MW applications. 1,5 A large class of high-quality materials used for DRAs belongs to the perovskite family. Materi- als with a complex perovskite crystalline structure can be used in electronic devices due to their propensity for ionic substitution. 611 Tungstates have attracted attention due to their good die- lectric properties and chemical stability. 12 Many tungstates, such as Ca 3 LnW 2 O 12 (Ln = La, Sm), 12 Ca (1−x) Sr x WO 4 , 13 BiREWO 6 (RE = Y, Gd and Nd), 14 and Sr 3 WO 6 , 15 demon- strated attractive MW dielectric properties. Among the tung- states, Ba 5 Li 2 W 3 O 15 (BLWO), which has a hexagonal per- ovskite-type structure, has been reported to have good MW dielectric properties with ɛ r of 25.4, a high Q x f value of approximately 39,000 GHz and τ f near zero (10 ppm °C −1 ). 16 Thus, this is a good ceramic candidate for MW applications. Despite presenting satisfactory results as a dielectric ceramic, BLWO perovskite materials may form a small amount of the BaWO 4 (BWO) phase. Thus, syntheses * P. B. A. Fechine fechine@ufc.br 1 Grupo de Química de Materiais Avançados (GQMat), Departamento de Química Analítica e Físico-Química, Universidade Federal do Ceará – UFC, Campus do Pici, CP 12100, Fortaleza, CE CEP 60451-970, Brazil 2 Departamento de Química Orgânica e Inorgânica, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici, Bl. 940, Fortaleza, CE 60440-900, Brazil 3 Laboratório de Telecomunicações e Ciência e Engenharia de Materiais (LOCEM), Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil