PZT THICK FILMS FABRICATION USING A SOL-GEL BASED 0-3 COMPOSITE PROCESSING

A sol-gel based 0-3 ceramic-ceramic composite processing has been applied to fabricate lead zirconate titanate thick films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary, PZT53/47. In order to eliminate the effects of humidity on the stability of the sols, solid PZT precursors are prepared from partially stabilized titanium isopropoxide, lead acetate trihydrate and zirconium acetylacetonate without any solvent. Then the solid precursors were dissolved in 2-methoxythanol to form sols. Certain quantum modified PZT ceramic powder was dispersed into this obtained solution. Crack-free thick films with series thickness of 5 ~ 20-μm were fabricated using spin-coating method. The surface morphology and structural properties of the films were studied with Field Emission-SEM and X-ray diffraction techniques respectively. Electrical properties were compared with those of thin films. Thick PZT films should have good perspective in the application of new piezoelectric devices that cannot be achieved using conventional thin film or bulk techniques.