Sintering activation energy and low-temperature sinterable process of Boron-lanthanide glass/Li2Zn3Ti4O12 ceramic composite systems for LTCC technology

This work investigates the characteristics of wettability, activation energy for sintering, evolution of phase structure, and behavior during the low-temperature sintering process of B₂O₃-La₂O₃-MgO-TiO₂ (BLMT) glass/Li₂Zn₃Ti₄O₁₂ ceramic composites for low temperature co-fried ceramics technology (LTCC). As the BLMT glass content increases from 0 to 10 wt%, the average sintering activation energy (Ea) of the composite decreases from 450 ± 8 to 356 ± 37 kJ/mol. There are two phases the primary Li₂Zn₃Ti₄O₁₂ phase and the secondary LaBO₃ phase, the latter precipitates from the BLMT glass after sintering at 700 °C. This indicates that BLMT glass promotes the sintering of Li₂Zn₃Ti₄O₁₂ ceramic below 900 °C. In composites containing 20 wt% or more glass, sintering is governed by both liquid-phase sintering and reactive viscous sintering. As the BLMT glass content increases, the impact of viscous flow on the densification process becomes more pronounced. Simultaneously, when the glass content is greater than 20 wt%, the glass precipitates LaBO₃, TiO₂, and MgLaB₅O₁₀ phases between 700 and 750 °C. After 850 °C, the glass melts and reacts with Li₂Zn₃Ti₄O₁₂ phase to produce a new TiO₂ phase. Accordingly, the activation energy (Ea) of sintering the composite material increases from 393 ± 17 to 667 ± 1 kJ/mol.