Preparation and Characterization of Sol-Gel Derived PZT Thin Films for Micro Actuators

This paper presents the growth and characterization of PZT thin films by using the sol-gel technology. In this paper, we study the influences of annealing process and different substrates on the orientation and crystalline quality of PZT thin films. The crystallographic structures are tested by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and the residual stresses of PZT thin films are obtained by calculation from a derived stress-strain equation in XRD analysis. Moreover, surface morphology and microstructure of the films are investigated by using AFM and SEM, and the polarization hysteresis of PZT thin films is measured by using a Sawyer Tower circuit. The results show that PZT thin films prepared by using the sol-gel method have good properties and can be used for developing PZT-based micro and nano devices.

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Characterization of Piezoelectric Property of Sol-Gel PZT Thin Films and Its Improvement by Poling

IEEJ Transactions on Sensors and Micromachines ◽

10.1541/ieejsmas.124.124 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 124 (4) ◽

pp. 124-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kaoru Yamashita ◽

Masanori Okuyama

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Piezoelectric Property ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Pzt Thin Films

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Fabrication and Testing of a Micromirror Device Actuated by PZT Thin Films

Journal of Microelectronics and Electronic Packaging ◽

10.4071/1551-4897-3.4.209 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 209-215

Author(s):

Z.M. Xiao ◽

B.J. Chen ◽

H. Fan

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Plasma Etching ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Release Process ◽

Scanning Angle ◽

Pzt Thin Films ◽

Resonance Frequencies ◽

Bimorph Beam

The paper describes the fabrication and characterization of two-dimensional resonant micromirror device actuated by sol-gel deposited PZT thin films. The actuation principle is based on the bimorph beam structure, which consists of an oxide layer and a piezoelectric PZT layer. The two-dimensional scanning performance can be achieved by applying AC voltages with phase shifts at resonance to the actuating beams. The devices are fabricated through thin film depositions, lithography, dry plasma etching and the ICP release process. For a micromirror structure with a 300μm ×300μm mirror plate, the first four resonance frequencies are measured to be in the range of 10–30 kHz. To investigate the vibration modes, the deflections on different locations of the mirror plate are measured. The two dimensional scanning angle is determined to be in one direction and 11° at 23.4 kHz in the perpendicular direction.

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MEMS-Based Active Sliders With Multi-Layered Composite PZT Thin Films in Hard Disk Drives

Magnetic Storage Symposium: Frontiers of Magnetic Hard Disk Drive Tribology and Technology ◽

10.1115/2002-trib-0249 ◽

2002 ◽

Author(s):

Norio Tagawa ◽

Atsunobu Mori

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Hard Disk Drives ◽

Design Procedure ◽

Layered Composite ◽

Machining Process ◽

Flying Height ◽

Pzt Thin Films ◽

Micro Actuators ◽

And Control

This paper describes MEMS-based active sliders with micro-actuators. The proposal active slider uses PZT thin films as a micro-actuator and control the slider flying height of less than 10 nm. The design procedure for the active slider is discussed. In addition, novel multi-layered composite PZT thin film micro-actuators, which are very important functional micro-devices, are studied, and it is shown that the recently developed PZT thin films have better piezoelectric characteristics than not only conventional sol-gel derived PZT thin films but also sputtered PZT thin films. The micro-machining process for the active slider is also developed and the pico-size active slider is fabricated. The technical issues related to the fabrication of MEMS-based active sliders are discussed.

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