Robocast Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 Ceramic Monoliths and Composites

Robocasting, which is a computer‐controlled slurry‐deposition technique, was used to fabricate ceramic monoliths and composites of chemically prepared Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 ceramics. The densities and electrical properties of the robocast samples were equivalent to those obtained for cold isostatically pressed parts formed under a pressure of 200 MPa. Three‐layer robocast composites that consisted of alternating layers of different sintered densities—93.9%/96.1%/93.9%—were fabricated using different levels of organic pore‐former additions. Modification from a single‐material to a multiple‐material deposition robocaster was essential for the fabrication of composites that could withstand repeated cycles of saturated polarization switching under fields of 30 kV/cm. Furthermore, these composites withstood a poled ferroelectric‐to‐antiferroelectric phase transformation that was induced by a hydrostatic pressure of 500 MPa, during which strain differences on the order of 0.8% occurred between the composite elements.