Co-substituted CuO–ZrO2–Nb2O5 composite ceramics with low-temperature sintering and low-loss for high-performance patch antenna.

In the field of microwave dielectric ceramics for patch antennas, it has always been a thorny issue to simultaneously satisfy high dielectric constant, low sintering temperature and low dielectric loss. Here, a CCZN (x = 0.04) composite ceramic with excellent microwave dielectric properties was developed. It can be found that an appropriate amount of Co2+ substitution can enhance the compactness, increase the dielectric constant (ε r), reduce the dielectric loss (tan δ) and enhance the temperature coefficient (τ f). The composite ceramic with excellent dielectric properties (ε r = 22.6, Q × f = 37,624 GHz, τ f = −64.9 ppm/°C) shows good sintering compatibility with Ag. Based on this composite ceramic, a high-performance patch antenna was designed for Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS). It presents a small size of 30 × 30*3.8 mm3 and excellent radiation performance (return loss = −32.9 dB, VSWR = 1.047, impedance bandwidth = 60.6 MHz, radiation efficiency = 94.6% and realized gain = 7.704 dB). This work promotes the application of microwave dielectric ceramics in the field of patch antennas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]