Fractal Analysis of Microwave Rare Earth Ceramics Materials for Telecommunications

Abstract

This research investigates the microstructure of microwave dielectric rare-earth ceramic materials. These materials, used as high-quality filter materials in the integrated circuits (IC) of smart mobile phones, are essential for the functionality of oscillators. The oscillators act as electrical filters and are limited by the quality factor of the resonator. The microstructures of ceramics significantly affect the functionality of dielectric materials.

For the first time, this work employs fractal analysis and fractal regression analytical methods to visualize the microstructures of rare-earth ceramic materials. This enables us to tune and improve the quality factor of the samples using doping based on the improved understanding of the microstructure. The implementation of these recent and high-level mathematical methods can support the development of more efficient ICs, which are an integral part of modern electronics.

The goal of this research is to gain a detailed understanding of the structures of the materials and the relationship between their microstructure and dielectric properties. This will facilitate the identification of promising oxide ceramic candidates for use in mobile communications.

The unambiguous clarification of the microstructure, enabled by the fractal analysis, achieved by the research in this thesis enables the properties to be predicted before their installation in devices. A measure of structures has been calculated using the Hausdorff dimension. This technique has been utilised for rare-earth ceramics, which makes this research pioneering and innovative in the field of materials science.