Nanostructured MgTiO3 thick films obtained by electrophoretic deposition from nanopowders prepared by solar PVD

•Obtaining nano-crystalline magnesium titanium oxide powders by solar physical vapor deposition (SPVD) process. And using these nano-powders to obtain thick films on conducting substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD).•SPVD is a core innovative, original and environmentally friendly process to prepare nano-materials in a powder form.•Sintered thick films exhibited dielectric constant, ɛr ∼18.3 and dielectric loss, tan δ ∼0.0012 at 1MHz, which is comparable to the values reported earlier.•New contributions to the pool of information on the preparation of nano-structured MgTiO3 thick films at low temperatures.•A considerable decrease in synthesis temperature of pure MgTiO3 thick film was observed by the combination of SPVD and EPD. A novel combination of solar physical vapor deposition (SPVD) and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) that was developed to grow MgTiO3 nanostructured thick films is presented. Obtaining nanostructured MgTiO3 thick films, which can replace bulk ceramic components, a major trend in electronic industry, is the main objective of this work. The advantage of SPVD is direct synthesis of nanopowders, while EPD is simple, fast and inexpensive technique for preparing thick films. SPVD technique was developed at CNRS-PROMES Laboratory, Odeillo-Font Romeu, France, while the EPD was performed at University of Aveiro – DeMAC/CICECO, Portugal. The nanopowders with an average crystallite size of about 30nm prepared by SPVD were dispersed in 50ml of acetone in basic media with addition of triethanolamine. The obtained well-dispersed and stable suspensions were used for carrying out EPD on 25μm thick platinum foils. After deposition, films with thickness of about 22–25μm were sintered in air for 15min at 800, 900 and 1000°C. The structural and microstructural characterization of the sintered thick films was carried out using XRD and SEM, respectively. The thickness of the sintered samples were about 18–20μm, which was determined by cross-sectional SEM. Films sintered at 900°C exhibit a dielectric constant, ɛr ∼18.3 and dielectric loss, tan δ ∼0.0012 at 1MHz. The effects of processing techniques (SPVD and EPD) on the structure, microstructure and dielectric properties are reported in detail. The obtained results indicate that the thick films obtained in the present study can be promising for low loss materials for microwave and millimeter wave applications.