Lead-zirconate-titanate-based thick-film structures prepared by piezoelectric inkjet printing of aqueous suspensions

Sub-micrometre-sized, niobium-modified, lead-zirconate-titanate powder (PZTNb) was stabilised in water with polyethylenimine and de-agglomerated using a high-energy ultrasound tip. The ink was printed with drop-on-demand piezoelectric inkjet printer with a nozzle size of 21 μm on a metalized alumina substrate and the structures were heated at 400 and 850 °C. The electron microscopy analyses showed that the PZTNb structures printed using a waveform duration of 9 μs and a voltage amplitude of 30 V possessed a predefined geometry and a homogeneous structure after heating at 400 °C. After sintering at 850 °C the thicknesses of the three-printed layer structures decrease and resulted in ∼20 μm-thick film with relative dielectric permittivity of 1100 and dielectric losses of 0.057. Results indicate that the inkjet printing of aqueous PZTNb ink and the subsequent heating are suitable procedures for obtaining piezoelectric thick-film structures with a predefine geometry.