Origin of extrinsic dielectric loss in 1:2 ordered, single-phase BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3

Abstract

Among the family of temperature-compensated microwave dielectric ceramics, BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3 shows the lowest dielectric loss and remains a material of choice for state-of-the-art airborne and land-based communication systems. We report on the compositional stability range, microwave dielectric properties, and the degree of atomic order of the title compound within the BaO–MgO–Ta2O5 ternary diagram. In most cases an atomic order is robust to the deviation from stoichiometry with an exception of Ba-rich and/or Ta-deficient samples which favor (partial) disorder. We further demonstrate that the dense, atomically ordered BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3 ceramic shows large variation of dielectric loss within a single phase composition region – a clear message that the dielectric loss in practical ceramics is dominated by extrinsic sources and that the cation order alone is insufficient to achieve a minimum dielectric loss in BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3. The low-temperature dielectric relaxation studies suggest that the extrinsic dielectric loss in the title compound is due to the ‘rattling’ of the off-centered Mg2+ ions misplaced at the Ba sites. Controlled deviation from the BaMg1/3Ta2/3O3 stoichiometry toward the Mg-deficient region leads to suppression of the extrinsic dielectric loss as a result of the reduced chemical activity of Mg ion.