Electrophoretic deposition and sintering of thin/thick PZT films

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a simple, rapid, and low cost method fo r for ming dense lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films down to 5 mu m from pa rticulate precursors. The three main steps of this process are. (1) formati on of a charged suspension of the starting PZT powder; (2) deposition of th e powder particles on an electrode under the influence of a dc electric fie ld; and (3) fluxing and constrained sintering of the resulting particulate deposit at 900 degrees C to form a dense continuous film. A 10 mu m film fo rmed using this process exhibited a polarization hysteresis equivalent to t hat of a bulk sample formed from the same starting powder, with a remnant p olarization of 33 mu C cm(-2). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Limited. All right s reserved.