Fabrication and Electrical Properties of Lead Zirconate Titanate Thick Films

Thick films of lead zirconate titanate of the morphotropic phase boundary composition, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3, have been fabricated on platinum‐buffered silicon using a modified sol–gel spin‐coating technique. Crack‐free films of 12‐μm thickness can be uniformly deposited on 3‐in.‐diameter wafers with high yield and properties comparable to those of bulk ceramics. The thickness dependence of film structure and the dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties have been characterized over the thickness range of 1–12 μm. A strong (100) texture develops as film thickness increases above 5 μm; the films were marked by saturation values of longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient d33, 340 pC/N; remanent polarization, 27 μC/cm2; and dielectric permittivity, 1450. PZT films in this thickness range are extremely well‐suited to application as electromechanical transduction media in silicon‐based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).