Epoxy & Fused Silica composite for RF & Microwave

Applications

Surendra Kumar Dr. Pallavi Gupta

Department of Electronics and Communication Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering, Sharda University Engineering, Sharda University
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh- 201310, India Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh- 201310, India
Email:Surendra_kumar@celindia.co.in. Email: Pallavi.gupta2@sharda.ac.in

kd
Abstract— Fused silica and Epoxy composite was prepared in temperature. The dielectric loss (€r 0.012 @10 GHz) of the
and presented in this paper for the microwave applications. The Epoxy has been high and this restricts the usage of material
mixing of the Fused silica and Epoxy was done using powder for various other microwave applications. Their maximum
processing techniques. Fused silica particles are working as a working temperature is up to 150 degc only [9].
filler material in the Epoxy matrix. The dielectric loss of the
composite is found to be 0.002 at 9.5 GHz , which is lower than The Fused Silica is the excellent transparent material for in
the dielectric loss (0.012) of the unfilled Epoxy. The dielectric microwave frequency range for antenna and radome
constant of the composite (€r 2.5) approximately remains same as applications. They have got excellent thermal properties and
the unfilled Epoxy. Thus a new material composite is formed for their maximum working temperature is up to 800 degC.
the low loss microwave propagation with improved mechanical Their dielectric constant is 3.7 in X band range dielctic loss
and thermal properties because of the presence of the ceramic is 0.0004 [22]. However its processing cost is very high and
filler in Epoxy matrix. The practical value holds good in it required sintering temperature 1200 degC. The
agreement with the theoretical approaches. machinability of the material is very poor because of it is
brittle in nature.
Keywords—ceramics, polymers, composite, microwave, The mixing of the Fused silica and Epoxy will lead to the
polymer ceramic composite that exhibits good
machinability, lower cost of the processing and lower
I. INTRODUCTION dielectric loss. The fused silica will be used as a filler
The industry has been growing at very fast rate and the demand material in the Epoxy matrix. The effect and size of filler
of the new material is always there for the RF & Microwave content on the properties of various polymer/ceramic
applications. There are various polymers and ceramic materials composites have also been investigated. [10–19].
and there composite already available with the industry for The properties of the unfilled Epoxy has been given in the
microwave applications. However they have got usage below. [20-21]
limitation with respect to the limitation in the mechanical, Mechanical Properties
thermal and electrical properties. There processing cost also  Density : 1.15 g/cc
matters for fabricating devices usable in microwave frequency  Tensile strength : 70 MPa
range. Ceramics have excellent microwave dielectric, magnetic,  Flexural Strength : 60 MPa
thermal and mechanical properties. However, the production Electrical properties
cost of the ceramics is high [2]. The brittleness and high  Dielectric constant  : 2.9
processing temperature of ceramics lead to the difficulty in Dielectric loss @10 GHz : 0.012
fabrication of complex shapes or machining substrates during
Thermal properties
circuit fabrication. Many of the polymers satisfy the criteria of
low relative permittivity (εr) and low dielectric loss tangent (tan  Coefficient of thermal expansion : 60.7 ppm/°C
δ) which are essential for high frequency applications. The Thermal conductivity : 0.25 W/(m K)
major disadvantages of the polymers are o their high value of Maximum working temperature : 150 °C
the coefficient of thermal expansion, inferior magnetic
properties and low thermal conductivity [3-5]. A combination The properties of the Fused Silica is given below [22]
of polymers and ceramic fillers can effectively resolve the
processing cost as well as processing difficulties with balanced Mechanical Properties
dielectric, electrical & thermal and mechanical properties [1, 6– Density : 2.201(g/cm3)
8]. Mohs hardness : 5.5--- 6.5
Epoxy has been extensively used in various RF & microwave Tensile strength (approx.) : 50 MPa
application like radomes, substrates and resins for conductive Bending strength (approx.) : 67 Mpa
surface for joining the devices. They have excellent chemical Electrical Properties
and corrosion resistance properties. The manufacturing of the Dielectric loss angle @10 GHz : 0.0004
Epoxy has been cheaper and it can be processed at lower Dielectric constant (ε) @23 °C : 3.70
.

978-1-7281-2577-0/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE

 Thermal Properties
Thermal conductivity (k) : 0.245 W/m°C
Temperature coefficient of
Expansion (TCE) at 25 °C : 117 ppm/°C
Epoxy based Silica composite have already been investigated
for improvement in its thermal and mechanical properties.[23-
26]. The effect in the dielectric properties of the Epoxy with
Fused silica as filler content has been investigated in this paper.
This newly created material may be used for the microwave
components or devices for possible low loss microwave
propagation because of the lower tangent loss and optimized
mechanical properties.
II. THEORITCAL PPROACH
The effective relative permittivity of polymer–ceramic
composites is very important for the RF & microwave
engineering applications.
The theoretical approach for mixing the polymer and ceramics
together is described by the following equations. The
Bruggeman symmetric has been depicted in Eq. (1) and
Looyenga Eq. (2) as per the mixing rules. These equations are
considered to have good agreement in the microwave range as
researched and reported by Tuhkala et al. [16]
€ i−€ eff € i−€ eff
f+ (1−f )= 0 -----------(1)
€ i+2 € eff € i+2 € eff
€ eff 1/3 =¿(1- f ) € e 1/3 + f € e 1/3 ----------(2)
Where €eff, €e, €i are the effective permittivity of the
polymer-ceramic composite, permittivity of the Epoxy , and
permittivity of the Fused Silica a ceramic filler, respectively,
and ‘f’ is denoted as the volume fraction of the filler. The
effective loss tangent can be calculated from
( tanδeff )α =∑ f ( tanδi )α ------------ (3)
The ‘tanδ eff’ is the loss tangent of the polymer-ceramic
composite the newly material formed. The constant,' ∝' ,
designates the mixing model, its values are, -1= serial, =0
logarithmic, and =1 parallel. [17–19]. The letter ‘f’ again
denotes the volume fraction of the filler. The parallel mixing
approach was used for estimation of the losses. The equation
again holds good correlation with air particle composite also
reported in the literature. [16]
III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The commercially Fused Silica was procured from Chetinad,
Tamilnadu, India and it was processed at Central Electronics
Limited, India. The particle size of the processed powder was
measured. The particle size distribution was centered about
1micron. The Epoxy powder was bought from Ekochem,
Mumbai, India.
.
The Epoxy and Fused Silica composite was prepared by
powder processing techniques. For better adhesive and
bonding properties, the Fused Silica powder was treated
with acetate based coupling agents. The treated powder
was mixed and stirred with Epoxy powder in ultrasonic
miser at 70degC for 1 hour. The homogeneity of the
mixed powder is maintained during the mixing process in
the ultrasonic mixer. The mixed powder is treated in the
oven at 170 degC for 2 hour. In this process the binder is
evaporated easily and the required and thoroughly mixed
Epoxy and Fused Silica powder mixture were obtained.
Three no. of samples in powder forms were created for
different volume fractions of the filler in Epoxy. These
homogeneously mixed composite powders were then
pressed under uniaxial pressure machine of 20MPa for
1min. The rectangular shaped bar were created using the
die and jigs. The obtained bars were sintered at 310 degC
for 2h under controlled atmosphere.
The particle size of the composite was measured using
particle size analyzer from Marvelon Germany at Central
Electronics Limited. The composition of the composite
was measured using XRF method at physics deptt of
Delhi University.
The density of the composites was determined using
buoyancy method at different volume of the fractions of
the Fused Silica into the Epoxy matrix. The composites
were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD)
techniques at Physics deptt of Delhi University, India.
The dielectric constant and dielectric losses were
measured using an Performance network analyzer
equipped with the ATE system and software for the
measurement of dielectric constant and dielectric loss
together (Keysight technologies, USA). The sintered
samples of dia 1mm and length of 20 mm were prepared
from the sintered slab. The cavity perturbation method
was used for the measurement of dielectric properties of
the polymer-ceramic composite.
IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The particle size of the composite mixed powder was
measured and the results are given in figure: 1. It can be
seen from the particle size distribution results that most of
the particles are distributed around 1 micron size which
indicates the homogeneity of the polymer-ceramics
composite in powder form. The most of the particle size of
the composite is uniform across the distribution spectrum.
 Dielectric Constant of the composite
2.7
2.6 2.6
2.5
2.4 2.4
2.3 2.3
2.2
2.1

0.1Vf

0.15 Vf

0.25 Vf
Figure 1: Particle size analysis of Mixed EPOXY and
FUSED SILICA Figure 2: Dielectric constant of Epoxy and Fused Silica
composite

Similarly tangent loss of the sintered and pressed sample

has been given in figure: 3. The data represents the
different values of tangent loss against the different
volume of fraction of FUSED SILICA ceramics into
Epoxy matrix. It can be observed from the results that
tangent loss increases with the increase in the volume
fraction of the filler material. The dielectric constant of
the EPOXY and FUSED SILICA composite is higher
than the original values of the constituents

Dielectric Loss of the Composite

0 0
0
0
Figure 2: XRD pattern of Mixed EPOXY and FUSED 0 0
SILICA 0
Figure 2 shows the XRD pattern of the sintered samples with 0
volume fraction of 0.3 Vf of the FUSED SILICA material. 0
The crystalline structure of the EPOXY and FUSED SILICA 0
composite decreases as the volume fraction of the FUSED 0
SILICA ceramics increases. The peak in the figure 2
0.1Vf

0.15 Vf

indicates that crystalline presence of EPOXY material and
smaller peak is observed due to presence of FUSED SILICA
material. Because of the aggregation of the filler material in
the matrix, the porosity of the composite increases. The
binding or connectivity of the ceramic particles increases
among themselves as the mixing ratio increases in composite.
This leads to the improvement in the mechanical and thermal
properties.
The dielectric constant of the sintered and pressed sample has
been given in figure: 2. The data represents the different
values of dielectric constants against the different volume of
fraction of FUSED SILICA ceramics into Epoxy matrix. It
can be observed from the results that dielectric constant
increases with the increase in the volume fraction of the filler
material. The dielectric constant of the EPOXY and FUSED
SILICA composite is higher than the original values of the
constituents.
0.25 Vf
Figure 3: Tangent loss of the Epoxy and Fused Silica
composite
V. CONCLUSION
Epoxy and Fused Silica ceramics and their Composite have
been discussed for microwave applications. A combination
of polymers and ceramic fillers can effectively resolve the
processing cost as well as processing difficulties with
balanced dielectric, magnetic thermal and mechanical
properties. FUSED SILICA and EPOXY polymer ceramic
composites was prepared by powder processing method for
application RF & microwave devices are presented in this
paper. The dielectric constant of the composite increases as

.
 content of the FUSED SILICA ceramics increases in the [18] K. M. Manu, S. Soni,V. R. K. Murthy, M. T.Sebastian ,
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Sebastian, (2015) ” Dielectric, thermal and mechanical
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
VI. polyethylene composites for antenna applications” Phys.
The corresponding author gratefully acknowledges the Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 14943-14950, DOI
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Research. 2012; 15(4): 645-649, DDOI: 10.1590/S1516-
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