Development and electrical characterization of lead zirconate titanate thick films on silicon substrates

Fabrication of thick films of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) on buffered silicon substrates, and evaluation of its dielectric, ferroelectric, and electromechanical properties constitute the subject matter of this study. It has been demonstrated, for the first time, that crack free thick films of PZT can be fabricated on silicon. Films 12 μm-thick obtained by screen printing on a single pass show dielectric permittivity of 200, tangent losses of 0.05, remanent polarization of 2.5 μC/cm², and coercive field of 40 kV/cm. The field induced longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient recorded 50 pC/N at appropriate drive and dc bias conditions. The piezoelectric voltage coefficient was calculated to be 36×10^-3 V-m/N, larger than that of a poled bulk ceramic. These results are promising for the utility of PZT thick films in micromachined acoustic sensor arrays, vibration sensors and other applications