Characterization of lead-based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics sintered in a 2.45 GHz microwave radiation

Microwave processing of xPb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-yPb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O-3-zPbTiO(3) rel axor ferroelectric ceramics was investigated in a 2.45 GHz multimode cavity . The microwave-sintered samples were densified more rapidly and in a short er time than the conventional sintered sample. A much smaller grain size an d more uniform microstructure was developed in microwave heating. Dielectri c measurement showed microwave sintered samples could obtain comparable die lectric properties (high pemittivity of 20,000) to the conventional. It was found that a high breakdown strength of 10 kV/mm and mechanical strength o f 90 MPa can be achieved by the microwave method. It shows the potential to improve the figure of merit for the materials. The results reveal that mic rowave processing is a promising method for sintering the high dielectric c eramics. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.