Co-Firing Behavior of Co₂Z Hexagonal Ferrite/Ag Internal Electrode for MLCIs

This paper presents the shrinkage behavior, phase transformation and interfacial character of the hexagonal ferrite/silver electrode composite. The shrinkage analysis shows apparent sintering mismatch between hexagonal ferrite ceramic and silver electrode material and improvement of the co-fired characteristics was obtained by adding appropriate amount of sintering additive. Scanning electron microscopy observations indicate that silver grains distribute uniformly in the composite. Drawn from the back-scattered (BS) electron image, no silver dispersed into the ferrite grains and there’re no obvious chemical reactions between Co2Z hexagonal ferrite and silver, which can be confirmed by X-ray diffraction spectrum. Silver induction exerts remarkable effect on the electronic properties of the composite and could increase the dielectric constant and dielectric loss to a certain extent.