Fabrication and characterization of a high Q-factor microcantilever enhanced by lead zirconate titanate thick film

A microcantilever actuated by 2.5-mm-thick lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film was fabricated by a bulk silicon micromachining technique and a sol-gel route. The results show that the fundamental resonant frequency is 199.63 kHz, which is similar to the theoretical result. The mechanical quality factor (Q-factor) is 799 even under standard atmospheric pressure condition. According to the analysis of energy dissipation mechanism, the PZT thick film can improve the Q-factor of the resonator due to the great effective elastic modulus and the "hard" property. These results imply that the PZT thick film could have a promising application in high Q-factor microelectromechanical devices.