Influences of crystallization temperature and slurry concentration on stress of PZT thick film prepared by a modified sol-gel method

As a key MEMS transducer materials, PbZr_0.52Ti _0.48O₃(PZT) piezoelectric thick film should have good piezoelectric properties as well as lower stress. But now few studies on PZT film stress were carried out. The PZT thick films are deposited by a modified sol-gel method, and the influences of crystallization temperature and slurry concentration on stress are investigated in this paper. The result shows that the PZT thick film stress is tensile stress about 100-1000Mpa. With crystallization temperature increasing, thermal stress increases gradually. The stress increases about 3.5 times as the crystallization temperature rises from 600°C to 700°C. With powder concentration of slurry increasing, the stress of PZT thick film becomes smaller. The stress decreases about 7 times as powder concentration of slurry increasing from 1:4.5 to 1:3.5. The relationship between stress of PZT thick films and crystallization temperature is simulated by using the finite element method, and the results of simulation agree well with the experimental results.