Screen printed PZT thick films using composite film technology

A spin coating composite sol gel technique for producing lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films has been modified for use with screen printing techniques. The resulting screen printing technique can be used to produce 10 μm thick films in a single print. The resultant films are porous but the density can be increased through the use of repeated sol infiltration/pyrolysis treatments to yield a high density film. When fired at 710°C the composite screen printed films have dielectric and piezoelectric properties comparable to, or exceeding, those of films produced using a 'conventional' powder/glass frit/oil ink and fired at 890°C.