Grain size effects on dielectric properties of barium strontium titanate composite ceramics

Ba0.4Sr0.6TiO3–Mg2TiO4 composite ceramics with different grain sizes were prepared by three sintering methods. The dielectric constant dependences of temperature and frequency showed an increased degree of diffuseness of the Curie peaks as the grain sizes decreased. The tunability (T) and quality factor (Q) were found to be strongly dependent on the grain sizes. The tunability significantly decreased with increasing the grain size. In contrary, the quality factor (Q) at microwave frequencies increased with increasing grain size. A moderate tunability while maintaining a high Q value is still realizable for composite ceramics with grain sizes from about 6.5 to 15.0 μm.