Improved dielectric breakdown strength and suppressed energy loss in niobate glass-ceramics crystallized by microwave process

Abstract For pulsed power applications, the BaO–Na 2 O–Nb 2 O 5 –SiO 2 glass-ceramic dielectrics were prepared by two routes including the traditional heating method and the novel microwave process. And the effects of the microwave process on the microstructure, the dielectric properties, and charge-discharge performance of the glass-ceramics were systematically investigated. The charge-discharge properties of the glass-ceramics were investigated using a high-speed capacitor charge-discharge circuit device. It was found that the microwave process could form a more uniform microstructure with small grain size, and significant enhancement on dielectric breakdown strength (1248 kV/cm) and discharge efficiency (92%) were achieved in BaO–Na 2 O–Nb 2 O 5 –SiO 2 glass-ceramics crystallized by microwave process.