Functional Ceramics: From Fundamental Research to Applications

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D:Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 3856

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Electronic Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan 710301, Taiwan
Interests: electroceramics; thin films; piezoelectric ceramics

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Guest Editor
Graduate Institute of Electronic Engineering, Cheng-Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Interests: non-volatile resistor random memory devices; ferroelectric memory devices; thin films; functional ceramics applications
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Guest Editor
Interdisciplinary Program of Green and Information Technology, National Taitung University, Taitung 95092, Taiwan
Interests: optical fiber laser; optoelectronic semiconductor; semiconductor physics; electronic circuit design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional ceramics have gradually gained importance in recent years; these interesting materials have been used in electronic devices in many important applications. Functional ceramics is an applied science that studies the design, material composition, material properties, and applications of substances and devices made of functional ceramics. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications of functional ceramic thin-film technology today. This technology has a wide range of applications. Much research has used different thin films for computer storage devices, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing thin-film batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, and more. Due to the relatively high hardness of ceramic materials, such films are used to protect substrates from corrosion, oxidation, and wear. The Special Issue on functional ceramics presents the growth, characteristics, and applications of nanostructured thin films in various domains. We invite contributions from leading groups in the field with the aim of giving a balanced view of the current state of the art in this discipline.

Prof. Dr. Chien-Min Cheng
Prof. Dr. Kai-Huang Chen
Dr. Chih-Lung Tseng
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • functional ceramics
  • thin films
  • piezoelectric ceramics
  • computer storage devices
  • pharmaceuticals
  • manufacturing thin-film batteries
  • dye-sensitized solar cells

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 9225 KiB  
Article
Study of the Characteristics of Ba0.6Sr0.4Ti1-xMnxO3-Film Resistance Random Access Memory Devices
by Kai-Huang Chen, Chien-Min Cheng, Ming-Cheng Kao, Yun-Han Kao and Shen-Feng Lin
Micromachines 2024, 15(9), 1143; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15091143 - 12 Sep 2024
Viewed by 559
Abstract
In this study, Ba0.6Sr0.4Ti1-xMnxO3 ceramics were fabricated by a novel ball milling technique followed by spin-coating to produce thin-film resistive memories. Measurements were made using field emission scanning electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, X-ray [...] Read more.
In this study, Ba0.6Sr0.4Ti1-xMnxO3 ceramics were fabricated by a novel ball milling technique followed by spin-coating to produce thin-film resistive memories. Measurements were made using field emission scanning electron microscopes, atomic force microscopes, X-ray diffractometers, and precision power meters to observe, analyze, and calculate surface microstructures, roughness, crystalline phases, half-height widths, and memory characteristics. Firstly, the effect of different sintering methods with different substitution ratios of Mn4+ for Ti4+ was studied. The surface microstructural changes of the films prepared by the one-time sintering method were compared with those of the solid-state reaction method, and the effects of substituting a small amount of Ti4+ with Mn4+ on the physical properties were analyzed. Finally, the optimal parameters obtained in the first part of the experiment were used for the fabrication of the thin-film resistive memory devices. The voltage and current characteristics, continuous operation times, conduction mechanisms, activation energies, and hopping distances of two types of thin-film resistive memory devices, BST and BSTM, were measured and studied under different compliance currents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ceramics: From Fundamental Research to Applications)
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13 pages, 4414 KiB  
Article
The Electric Conductivity of Bi7Fe3Ti3O21 Doped with Gadolinium
by Jolanta Makowska, Diana Szalbot, Małgorzata Adamczyk-Habrajska, Beata Wodecka-Duś and Maciej Chrunik
Micromachines 2024, 15(7), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15070860 - 30 Jun 2024
Viewed by 697
Abstract
Bi7-xGdxFe3Ti3O21 (x = (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6)) bismuth-layered perovskite structure compounds have been successfully prepared by a solid-state reaction. The results of X-ray studies indicate that a single-phase ceramic was obtained, characterized [...] Read more.
Bi7-xGdxFe3Ti3O21 (x = (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6)) bismuth-layered perovskite structure compounds have been successfully prepared by a solid-state reaction. The results of X-ray studies indicate that a single-phase ceramic was obtained, characterized by an orthorhombic crystal structure for all compounds within the Fm2m space group. Microstructural analysis revealed that introducing gadolinium to the material altered the grain morphology, resulting in a more rounded grain shape and a somewhat disordered arrangement. Moreover, with higher gadolinium concentrations, there is a noticeable increase in the presence of the number of large plates. Impedance spectroscopy has been used to characterize the electrical properties of Bi7-xGdxFe3Ti3O21 compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ceramics: From Fundamental Research to Applications)
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17 pages, 14477 KiB  
Article
Antenna Array Design Based on Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics
by Lu Teng, Zhongjun Yu, Dali Zhu, Chengxiang Hao and Na Jiang
Micromachines 2024, 15(6), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15060669 - 21 May 2024
Viewed by 944
Abstract
With the continuous development of wireless communication technology, the frequency band of 6G communication systems is moving towards higher frequencies such as millimeter waves and terahertz. In such high-frequency situations, wireless transmission requires antenna modules to be provided with characteristics of miniaturization, high [...] Read more.
With the continuous development of wireless communication technology, the frequency band of 6G communication systems is moving towards higher frequencies such as millimeter waves and terahertz. In such high-frequency situations, wireless transmission requires antenna modules to be provided with characteristics of miniaturization, high integration, and high gain, which presents new challenges to the development of antenna technology. In this article, a 4 × 4 antenna array using multilayered low-temperature co-fired ceramic is proposed, operating in W-band, with a feeding network based on substrate-integrated waveguide, and an antenna element formed through the combination of a substrate-integrated cavity and surface parasitic patches, which guaranteed the array to possess the advantages of high integration and high gain. Combined with the substrate-integrated waveguide to a rectangular waveguide transition structure designed in the early stage, a physical array with a standard metal rectangular waveguide interface was fabricated and tested. The test results show that the gain of the antenna array is higher than 18 dBi from 88 to 98 GHz, with a maximum of 20.4 dBi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ceramics: From Fundamental Research to Applications)
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12 pages, 4267 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Dielectric Properties of Gradient Composite BaxSr1−xTiO3 Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors
by Xiaobing Jili, Libin Gao, Hongwei Chen and Jihua Zhang
Micromachines 2024, 15(4), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15040470 - 29 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1202
Abstract
Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) prepared using Ba1−xSrxTiO3 (BST) ceramics exhibit high dielectric constants (~1000), low dielectric loss (<0.01), and high breakdown voltage, with particularly significant tunability in dielectric properties (>50%) and with poor temperature stability. Doping-dominated temperature stability [...] Read more.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) prepared using Ba1−xSrxTiO3 (BST) ceramics exhibit high dielectric constants (~1000), low dielectric loss (<0.01), and high breakdown voltage, with particularly significant tunability in dielectric properties (>50%) and with poor temperature stability. Doping-dominated temperature stability improvements often result in unintended loss of dielectric properties. A non-doping method has been proposed to enhance the temperature stability of BST capacitors. The composite gradient multilayer (CGML) ceramic capacitors with BaxSr1−xTiO3, where 0.5 < x < 0.8, as the dielectric, were prepared using a tape-casting method and sintered at 1250 °C. There exists a dense microstructure and continuous interface between the BaxSr1−xTiO3 thick film and the Pt electrodes. CGML ceramic capacitors feature a high dielectric constant at 1270, a low dielectric loss of less than 0.007, and excellent frequency and temperature stability. The capacitor showcases remarkable dielectric properties with a substantial tunability of 68% at 100 kV/cm, along with a notably consistent tunability ranging from 20% to 28% at 15 kV/cm across temperatures spanning from 30 to 100 °C, outperforming single-component BST-MLCCs in dielectric performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Ceramics: From Fundamental Research to Applications)
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