Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 thick films from mechanochemically synthesized powder

The phase composition, microstructure and electrical properties of thick-film structures based on 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.35PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) were studied. PMN–PT powder with 2 mol% of excess PbO was prepared by high-energy milling from the constituent oxides. A high yield of perovskite PMN–PT with nano-sized particles was obtained after the synthesis. A paste was prepared from the obtained powder, screen printed on platinised alumina substrates and sintered at 850, 900 and 950 °C. Single-phase PMN–PT thick-film structures without any pyrochlore phase were obtained after the sintering. The dense PMN–PT layers had good dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties. The relative dielectric permittivity of 4100 and the peak value of 41,000 for the film sintered at 950 °C compare well with bulk ceramics sintered at much higher temperatures. The d33 value of the film was 170 pC/N. The obtained values for the dielectric properties demonstrate the good chemical homogeneity of material synthesized by high-energy milling.