Preparation, characterization and dielectric properties of temperature stable SrTiO3/PEEK composites for microwave substrate applications

Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) is a potential candidate for electronic applications due to its low permittivity, low loss, high melting point, better chemical resistance, excellent insulating properties and easy processibility. Present paper discusses the preparation and characterization of SrTiO3 filled PEEK composite for microwave substrate applications. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and temperature variation of dielectric constant of the composites have been studied up to 1 MHz using an Impedance Analyzer. Different theoretical approaches have been employed to predict the effective permittivity of composite systems and the results are compared with that of the experimental data. The crystallinity of the bulk composite is studied by X-ray diffraction studies. Scanning electron microscopic technique has been employed to study the dispersion of the particulate filler in PEEK matrix. Vickers hardness of pure and filled PEEK composite has been measured using Microhardness Tester. The effect of particle size on the dielectric as well as mechanical properties of SrTiO3/PEEK composite system is also studied by incorporating micronsize and nanosize fillers. Present study shows that a temperature stable composite can be realized by judiciously selecting appropriate filler concentration in the PEEK matrix.