Preparation of a high-quality PZT thick film with performance comparable to those of bulk materials for applications in MEMS

High-quality lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films have been prepared on silicon substrates by combining PZT–Si bonding and wet-etching technology. The bulk PZT wafer was first bonded to the silicon substrate using a 2 µm thick intermediate layer of epoxy resin with a bonding strength higher than 10 MPa. Then the bulk PZT was thinned by a wet-etching method. The thickness of the final PZT films depends on the etching time. The PZT thick films after being polished showed a surface roughness of about 20 nm (RMS), which can satisfy most of the requirements in MEMS. The prepared PZT thick films show a dielectric constant as high as 2400 below 100 kHz, remnant polarization of 13 µC cm−2, piezoelectric constant d31 of about −280 pm V−1 and Young's modulus of about 63 GPa. The measured electromechanical properties of the PZT thick films were comparable to those of the corresponding bulk ceramics. This approach makes it possible to obtain high-quality PZT films because it separates the PZT wafer fabrication from the target substrate and consequently allows integration of the PZT thick films onto many kinds of substrates. Finally, a self-sensing bulk PZT thick film actuator was fabricated as an example of a basic PZT–Si diaphragm structure that can be used in piezoelectric micropumps, and its sensing and actuating performances were also demonstrated.