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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 March 2011
The composition 40 wt% Ba0.55Sr0.45TiO3 (BST) – 60 wt% MgO bulk material was recently found to be a promising candidate as a low loss, tunable material for electronically scanning antennas (ESA). However, due to the high permittivity of the BST-MgO composite impedance mismatch within the antenna could be a source of loss. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) could be used as a processing tool to develop functionally graded structures tailored to reduce the impedance mismatch without a reduction in the tunability. In addition, EPD could be used in thin or thick films to decrease the required biasing fields. In this study, EPD was used as a method for deposit thick films of BST functionally graded composites. The concentration of the suspension, solvent type, mixed solvent concentrations, bias field, time, particle size of powders and distance between electrodes were studied to control the deposition yield and thickness. SEM or calipers were used to measure deposit thickness. The relative weight ratio of BST to MgO in the suspension was compared to the final structure as measured by EDS.