Improving the piezoelectric properties of thick-film PZT: the influence of paste composition, powder milling process and electrode material

摘要

This paper details improvements of the d33 coefficient for thick-film Lead–Zirconate–Titanate (PZT) layers. In particular, the effect that the powder milling process has on particle size, shape and distribution has been investigated. Ball milled, jet milled and attritor milled powders were obtained from Morgan Electro-Ceramics Ltd. These powders were mixed with various ratios of lead borosilicate glass in the range of 5–20% by weight and an appropriate quantity of Electro-Science Laboratories (ESL) 400 solvent to formulate a screen printable thixotropic paste. The use of a polymer top electrode to reduce the number of firing cycles the PZT layer is subjected to was also investigated. The results show that the highest values of d33 were obtained from the ball milled powder with 10% glass content, but the most consistent results were obtained from the attritor milled samples. The samples printed with a polymer top electrode have shown an average increase of around 15% in the value of d33.