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PZT thick films by diol chemical solution deposition

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Abstract

Process optimization and properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films for piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) for scanning probe devices will be presented. The goal of the work was a replacement of the tetragenic and mutagenic solvent and a decrease of time-consuming PZT 2–methoxy ethanol (2MOE) route. An alternative diol-based solution synthesis process was developed and “Design Of Experiment” (DOE) was used to achieve processing optimization for thick and crack free films. Tight parameter control allowed to develop a highly reproducible PZT diol process. The crystallization behaviour of crack-free PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 films (1–5 μm) with oriented perovskite structure was examined by X-ray diffraction and surface analysis using scanning electron microscopy. Piezoelectric and dielectric properties were examined. The effective transverse piezoelectric coefficient e 31,f of sol–gel processed films was investigated for 4 μm thick layers. Best properties were achieved with {1 0 0}-textured films, where a remanent e 31,f value of −7.3 C/m2 was measured for 4.1 μm thick films.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Ceramic Laboratory from STI/IMX/EPFL for technical support and dielectric measurements.

This work was supported by the European FP6––STREP project MUSTWIN no. NMP2-CT-2003-505630.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EPFL-STI-IMX, Ceramic Laboratory, Lausanne, Switzerland

    S. Gentil

  2. IR Microsystems, PSE-C, Lausanne, Switzerland

    M. Kohli & A. Seifert

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  1. S. Gentil
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  2. M. Kohli
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  3. A. Seifert
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Correspondence to S. Gentil.

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Gentil, S., Kohli, M. & Seifert, A. PZT thick films by diol chemical solution deposition. J Electroceram 19, 307–310 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-007-9053-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10832-007-9053-2

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