Crystallization kinetics, sintering, microstructure, and properties of low temperature co-fired magnesium aluminum silicate glass-ceramic

We investigated the effects of sintering temperature and time on the dielectric and mechanical properties, sintering, microstructure, crystallization, and thermal expansion coefficient of Magnesium aluminum silicate glass-ceramic for the applications of low temperature co-fired ceramics substrates. The glass-ceramic has been prepared by melt quenching route. The crystallization kinetics of glass-ceramic was investigated using non-isothermal methods by differential thermal analysis. The activation energy for crystallization E was found to be 201.92 kJ/mol. Mg0.6Al1.2Si1.8O6 was the first crystalline phase forming in the glass-ceramic. With the increase of sintering temperature, the phases of ZrO2 and indialite precipitate successively. The coefficient of thermal expansion of glass-ceramic increased with the increase of the sintering temperature and time. With the increase of sintering temperature or holding time, the density, bending strength and dielectric constant of the material all increased first and then decreased. The samples sintered at 900 °C for 2 h showed the best properties: high bulk density (2.695 g/cm3), low dielectric constant (6.21) and low dielectric loss (1.2 ∗ 10−3), good bending strength (163 MPa) and low coefficient of thermal expansion (6.35 ∗ 10−6 K−1). The results showed that the prepared glass-ceramic can be considered as a potential candidate for the application of low temperature co-fired ceramic substrates.