It is possible to improve the machinability of aluminum nitride-hexagonal boron nitride (AlN-h-BN) ceramics while maintaining high strength and high thermal conductivity. The composite ceramics with 0-30 wt% BN as secondary phase were prepared by hot pressed sintering, using yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) as sintering aid. The phase composition, density, microstructure, mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, and dielectric properties were investigated. The sintering additives were favorable to purify the grain boundaries and improve densification, reacting with oxide impurities on the surface of raw material powder particles. The optimum BN content improved the flexural strength and fracture toughness of composite ceramics with 475 MPa and 4.86 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. With increasing the amount of BN, the thermal conductivity and hardness of composites gradually decreased, but the minimum value of thermal conductivity was still 85.6 W·m^-1·K^-1. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of the samples ranged from 6.8 to 8.3 and from 2.4 × 10^-3 to 6.4 × 10^-3, respectively, in 22-26 GHz.

High performance low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) dielectrics is highly desired for next generation information technology. The rational design is a key issue for the development of new LTCC materials. In comparison to the design of conventional electroceramics, more attention should be paid on the formation process of the material structure for that of LTCC, in addition to the physical properties, due to the special requirement in fabrication processing. In this paper, sintering mechanism of three types of LTCC materials, i.e., glass-ceramics, glass ceramic composite, and glass bonded ceramics, as well as important factors of their dielectric properties are discussed and summarized, and the design strategies for LTCC dielectrics, based on new matrix materials with much lower sintering temperature or higher quality, are proposed. As an example for rational design, oxyfluoride glass-ceramic based dielectrics, a new class of LTCC materials with low ε_r, is analyzed.