Preparation and characterization of relaxor-based ferroelectric thick films with single perovskite structure

Lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (0.8Pb(Mg_1/3Nb _2/3)O₃-0.2PbTiO₃, PMN-PT) thick films in the thickness range about 75 μm have been successfully fabricated on Au-coated Al₂O₃ substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Non-aqueous colloidal suspensions suitable for EPD were prepared by mixing ultrasonically PMN-PT particles in ethanol with pH=6.0. The effect of EPD process parameters such as deposition voltage, deposition time and the specific deposition mass of PMN-PT particles were investigated. The EPD parameters were optimized in order to obtain crack-free, high-quality uniform ceramic films. The deposited pyrochlore-free PMN-PT thick films were sintered at 1000°C for 30 min, and the phase evolvement and the microstructure of the film were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope.