Electrical properties of lead zinc niobate - Lead zirconate titanate thick films formed by aerosol deposition process

Lead zinc niobate (PZN) added lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films with thickness of 5 similar to 10 mu m were fabricated on silicon and sapphire substrates using aerosol deposition method. The contents of PZN were varied from 0, 20 and 40 %. The as deposited film had fairly dense microstructure without any crack, and showed only a perovskite single phase formed with nano-sized grains. The as-deposited films on silicon were annealed at temperatures of 700 degrees C, and the films deposited on sapphire were annealed at 900 degrees C in the electrical furnace. The effects of PZN addition on the microstructural evolution were observed using FE-SEM and HR-TEM, and dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the films were characterized using impedance analyzer and Sawyer-Tower circuit, respectively. The PZN added PZT film showed poor electrical properties than pure PZT film when the films were coated on silicon substrate and annealed at 700 degrees C, on the other hand, the PZN added PZT film showed higher remanent polarization and dielectric constant values then pure PZT film when the films were coated on sapphire and annealed at 900 degrees C. The ferroelectric and dielectric characteristics of 20% PZN added PZT films annealed at 900 degrees C were comparable with the values obtained from bulk ceramic specimen with same composition sintered at 1200 degrees C.