Microwave assisted processing of Nanocrystalline Barium Titanate based capacitor devices

Interest towards fabrication of nanostructured electro ceramic devices has witnessed exponential growth in recent years, owing to the requirements of miniaturization, multifunctionality and improved reliability. The major hurdle in realising the full potential of nano ceramics is preventing the unwanted grain growth whilst achieving high densification during conventional high temperature processing. In this project, a detailed study was performed on the fabrication of nanostructured barium titanate based X7R multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) using microwave assisted heating. The main processing stages involved in MLCC manufacture were; (i) nano BT powder synthesis, (ii) making nano BT ink formulations suitable for screen printing, (iii) sintering of components using conventional, microwave, hybrid heating methods and (iv) performance evaluation of the end products. (Continues...).