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A new binderless thick-film piezoelectric paste

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Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into a screen printable piezoelectric paste formulated from a blend of PZT-Pz29 powders of different mean particle size mixed in an organic vehicle. In order to enhance d33 properties of the thick-film (a piezoelectric coefficient), no binder material was mixed into the paste. The d33 coefficient and maximum applied electrical field of devices processed at peak temperatures of 150, 200, 750, 850 and 1,000°C were measured and the film adhesion assessed using scratch and tape tests. The applications that would benefit from these enhanced properties are also discussed. The thick-films produced at these processing temperatures showed good adhesion to 96% alumina substrates. They also showed the ability to withstand high electrical fields and a significant enhancement in d33 when compared to thick-film materials processed at similar temperatures using polymer or glass binders. A maximum average d33 value of 168pCN−1 was obtained for samples processed at a peak temperature of 1,000°C. This is 28% higher than the reported d33 value for a conventional piezoelectric thick-film processed at the same temperature. All samples withstood electric field strengths of over 14 MVm−1 which is between 2.5 and 4.5 times higher than that used for conventional piezoelectric thick-films.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Elena Koukharenko for her help taking SEM micrographs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Room 1001, Level 1, Building 86, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    Darryl P. J. Cotton, Paul H. Chappell, Andy Cranny & Neil M. White

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  1. Darryl P. J. Cotton
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  2. Paul H. Chappell
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  3. Andy Cranny
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  4. Neil M. White
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Correspondence to Darryl P. J. Cotton.

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Cotton, D.P.J., Chappell, P.H., Cranny, A. et al. A new binderless thick-film piezoelectric paste. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 18, 1037–1044 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-007-9275-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-007-9275-8

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