Low temperature sintering of PZT

Abstract

This paper describes the fabrication and characterization of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films fired in a liquid-phase sintering process at 900 °C in air. In detail the manufacturing of piezoelectric multilayers with internal pure silver (Tm 961 °C) electrodes are reported. The feasibility of ten sintering aids in two different volume fractions was investigated for a commercial hard PZT powder (PIC 181, PI Ceramics) with respect to density, microstructure, mechanical behaviour, and piezoelectric properties. Li2O, Li2CO3, PbO, MnO2, V2O5, CuO, Bi2O3, the eutectic mixtures Cu2O·PbO and PbO·WO3 and the ternary system Li2CO3·Bi2O3·CuO (LBCu) have been tested as liquid phase sintering aids. The combination of PZT with LBCu showed the best results. With 5 vol.% LBCu an average relative density of 97% and a characteristic breaking strength of 77 MPa was achieved. Composition of PZT with 2 vol.% LBCu exhibits the highest averaged piezoelectrical charge constant (d33) of 181 pC/N.