Thermal and electrical properties of BaO-B₂O₃-ZnO glasses

Glasses in the BaO-ZnO-B₂O₃ system were examined as potential replacement for PbO glass frits with low firing temperature (500-600 °C) for the dielectric layer of a plasma display panel (PDP). The glasses were evaluated for glass transition temperature (T_g), thermal expansion coefficient (α) and dielectric constant ε. The electrical and the thermal properties were also compared with theoretical data calculated by a known empirical equation. T_g of the glasses varied between 480 and 560 °C, and α was in the range of 7-9×10^-6 K^-1. The dielectric constant ranges from 14 to 19 and the theoretical data showed lower α and ε than the experimental data. The results suggest that BaO-ZnO-B₂O₃ glasses would be suitable as an alternative to Pb-based dielectric layer in PDPs.