Glass-ceramic composites containing cordierite, mullite, SiO2 glass and SiO2-B2O3-Al2O3-BaO-ZrO2 glass were fabricated in a process comprising solid state synthesis, milling, pressing and sintering. Thermal behavior, microstructure, composition and dielectric properties in the Hz-MHz, GHz and THz ranges were examined using a heating microscope, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, impedance spectroscopy, transmission method and time domain spectroscopy (TDS). The obtained substrates exhibited a low dielectric permittivity of 4.0-4.8. Spontaneously formed closed porosity dependent on the sintering conditions was considered as a factor that decreased the effective dielectric permittivity.
Keywords: cordierite; dielectric properties; glass–ceramic composites; low dielectric permittivity; mullite; terahertz frequencies.