Preparation and application of the 3C–SiC substrate to piezoelectric micro cantilever transducers

This study examines the fabrication process and mechanical properties of piezoelectric films with the substrate, which is made from silicon carbide. After depositing the PZT thick film on silicon carbide substrate and silicon substrate respectively, it was shown that silicon carbide substrate formed a stable interface with PZT thick film up to 950?°C, compared with silicon substrate. In addition, the dielectric constant of the PZT thick film sintered at 950?°C on a silicon carbide substrate was 843, and this value was about over 25 % improved value compared with that on a silicon substrate. A thick film piezoelectric micro transducer of a micro cantilever type was fabricated by using a multifunctional 3C–SiC substrate. The fabricated micro cantilever was a micro cantilever with multiple thin films on either silicon or silicon carbide substrate. The piezoelectric thick-film micro cantilever that was fabricated by using a SiC substrate showed excellent mechanical and thermal properties. The piezoelectric micro cantilever on the SiC substrate shows an excellent sensitivity towards the change of mass compared with the piezoelectric micro cantilever on the Si substrate.     

0.5Ba(Ti0.8Zr0.2)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3压电薄膜的摩擦、磨损性能

具有准同型相界组分的0.5Ba(Ti_0.8Zr_0.2)O₃-0.5(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)TiO₃ (BZT-0.5BCT)陶瓷, 表现出优异的铁电、压电性能, 作为一种具有潜在应用前景的无铅压电材料得到广泛关注. 本文采用溶胶-凝胶方法在Si(100)基底上制备了BZT-0.5BCT压电薄膜. 使用原子力显微镜和扫描电子显微镜测量得到样品的形貌图, 形貌图表明该方法制备的无铅压电薄膜表面光滑, 晶粒大小均匀、呈半球形, 直径为80–100 nm, 厚度为1.7 μm, 膜的内部有气孔.摩擦力实验表明, 压电薄膜样品与硅针尖之间存在静电力的作用, 导致其摩擦力远大于硅针尖与SiO₂之间的摩擦力, 但是两者的摩擦系数基本相同.划痕实验表明, BZT-0.5BC薄膜具有很强的法向承载能力, 但是切向抗磨损能力差, 样品的平均弹性模量为23.64 GPa± 5 GPa, 其硬度为2.7–4 GPa, 两者均略低于压电陶瓷Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃材料的体态值. 关键词： BZT-BCT薄膜 纳米摩擦力 纳米压痕 纳米划痕     

Thin film magnetoelectric composites near spin reorientation transition

We report the use of a magnetic instability of the spin reorientation transition type to enhance the magnetoelectric sensitivity in magnetostrictive-piezoelectric structures. We present the theoretical study of a clamped beam resonant actuator composed of a piezoelectric element on a passive substrate actuated by a magnetostrictive nanostructured layer. The experiments were made on a polished 150 μm thick 18×3 mm² lead zirconate titanate (PZT) plate glued to a 50 μm thick silicon plate and coated with a giant magnetostrictive nanostructured Nx(TbCo_{2 5nm}/FeCo_5nm) layer. A second set of experiments was done with magnetostrictive layer deposited on PZT plate. Finally, a film/film structure using magnetostrictive and aluminium nitride films on silicon substrate was realized, and showed ME amplitudes reaching 30 V Oe⁻¹ cm⁻¹. Results agree with analytical theory.     

有序结构氟聚合物压电驻极体的制备和压电性研究

描述了一种有序微孔结构压电聚合物功能膜的制备方法,利用模板的高度有序实现薄膜微孔结构的精确控制.将此制备方法用于氟聚合物压电驻极体薄膜的制备,通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对其微观结构的观察表明薄膜具有理想的有序结构.对氟聚合物压电驻极体压电性的研究则是利用正压电效应测量准静态压电系数d₃₃,通过等温衰减和压强依赖性的测量考察其压电性能.结果表明:有序结构氟聚合物压电驻极体的准静态压电系数d₃₃可高达300 pC/N;与无序结构氟聚合物     

Multiferroic behavior and magnetoelectric effect in CoFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 thick films

A CoFe₂O₄/Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (CFO/PZT) multiferroic composite thick film assisted by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was prepared by a hybrid sol–gel processing and spin coating technique. Scanning electronic microscopy indicated a porous microstructure with a thickness of 6.2 μm. Pure PZT perovskite phase observed from x-ray diffraction suggested that the low ratio of CFO particles was deeply buried in the PZT matrix. Ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties were observed simultaneously at room temperature as well as a lower leakage current compared with a CFO/PZT thin film. The dynamic and static magnetoelectric effects were strongly dependent on the applied DC/AC magnetic field but their values were very low. The results demonstrated the prediction that ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties can induce a strong magnetoelectric coupling only if a dense microstructure was achieved.     

The influence of different doping elements on microstructure, piezoelectric coefficient and resistivity of sputtered ZnO film

ZnO film is attractive for high frequency surface acoustic wave device application when it is coupled with diamond. In order to get good performance and reduce insertion loss of the device, it demands the ZnO film possessing high electrical resistivity and piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃. Doping ZnO film with some elements may be a desirable method. In this paper, the ZnO films undoped and doped with Cu, Ni, Co and Fe, respectively (doping concentration is 2.0 at.%) are prepared by magnetron sputtering. The effect of different dopants on the microstructure, piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃, and electrical resistivity of the film are investigated. The results indicate that Cu dopant can enhance the c-axis orientation and piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃, the Cu and Ni dopant can increase electrical resistivity of the ZnO film up to 10⁹ Ω cm. It is promising to fabricate the ZnO films doped with Cu for SAW device applications.     

Nanosize silicon nitride: characteristic of doped powders and of the related sintered materials

The paper reports on both the characteristics of ultrafine silicon nitride powder produced by plasma synthesis and the microstructure and properties of the relative sintered material. The powder, already containing yttria and alumina as sintering aids, has a bimodal particle size distribution and it is partly amorphous. The chemical composition and morphology of the particles are shown. Yttria and alumina were not found in separate particles but the elements constituting them (i.e., Y, Al, O) are either in solid solutions in the crystalline particles or dispersed within the amorphous portion of the powder. Dense materials were obtained by pressureless sintering at 1750 °C. Microstructure and composition of silicon nitride grains and of grain boundary phases are analyzed and discussed. When compared to a micro-sized Si₃N₄, nanoindentation tests clearly revealed the inverse Hall Petch relation. The nanosize Si₃N₄ shows a Young’s modulus which is almost independent on the peak load. PACS 81.05.J,M; 81.40; 81.05.Y; 81.05.J; 46.30.P     

Fabrication of textured KNNT ceramics by reactive template grain growth using NN templates

Lead-free non-stoichiometric (K_0.470Na_0.545)(Nb_0.55Ta_0.45)O₃ (KNNT) textured ceramics were prepared by a reactive templated grain growth method using NaNbO₃ (NN) templates. The Plate-like NaNbO₃ (NN) templates were synthesized from bismuth layer-structured Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈ (BNN) particles by a topochemical microcrystal conversion (TMC) method. Using 5 wt% of NN templates, textured KNNT ceramics were fabricated, and their crystal structure, microstructure, dielectric and piezoelectric properties were compared with non-textured KNNT ceramics prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method. The textured KNNT ceramics exhibited high grain orientation and high dielectric constant. In addition, piezoelectric properties of textured KNNT ceramics were improved, giving a high piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ = 390 pC/N and piezoelectric coupling coefficient k_p = 0.60.     

Formations and morphological stabilities of ultrathin CoSi2 films

In this paper we investigate the formations and morphological stabilities of Co-silicide fihns using 1-8-nm thick Co layers sputter-deposited on silicon （100） substrates. These ultrathin Co-silicide films are formed via solid-state reaction of the deposited Co films with Si substrate at annealing temperatures from 450 ℃ to 850 ℃. For a Co layer with a thickness no larger than i nm, epitaxially aligned CoSi2 films readily grow on silicon （100） substrate and exhibit good morphological stabilities up to 600 ℃. For a Co layer thicker than 1 nm, polycrystalline CoSi and CoSi2 films are observed. The critical thickness below which epitaxially aligned CoSi2 film prevails is smaller than the reported critical thickness of the Ni layer for epitaxial alignment of NiSi2 on silicon （100） substrate. The larger lattice mismatch between the CoSi2 film and the silicon substrate is the root cause for the smaller critical thickness of the Co layer.     

Microstructure and piezoelectric properties of Bi0.5(Na0.82K0.18)0.5TiO3−NaSbO3 ceramics

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (1−x)Bi_0.5(Na_0.82K_0.18)_0.5TiO₃−xNaSbO₃ have been prepared by a conventional ceramics technique, and their microstructure and electrical properties have been investigated. The addition of NaSbO₃ has no remarkable effect on the crystal structure within the studied doping content; however, an obvious change in microstructure took place. With increase in NaSbO₃ content, the temperature from a ferroelectric to antiferroelectric phase transition increases, and the temperature for a transition from antiferroelectric phases to paraelectric phases changes insignificantly. Simultaneously, the temperature range between the rhombohedral phase transition point and the Curie temperature point becomes smaller. The piezoelectric properties significantly increase with increase in NaSbO₃ content and the piezoelectric constant and electromechanical coupling factor attain maximum values of d₃₃=160 pC/N and k_p=0.333 at x=0.01. The results indicate that (1−x)Bi_0.5(Na_0.82K_0.18)_0.5TiO₃−xNaSbO₃ ceramic is a promising lead-free piezoelectric candidate material.     

Growth of amorphous SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanowires on Si using a Pd/Au thin film as a catalyst

Nanowires of amorphous SiO₂ were synthesized by thermal processing of a Si(100) substrate at 1100 °C in the presence of a nitrogen flow, and using a 15 nm thick high silicon-solubility Pd/Au film as a catalyst. The substrate itself was the only source of silicon for the nanowire growth. The nanostructures produced were characterized by high resolution transmission and scanning electron microscopy and by X-ray diffraction. The nanowire growth is consistent with the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, with particles of Pd₂Si and Au(Pd) being observed to form from the reaction between silicon and the catalytic film, and to remain at the tip of the wires. The synthesized nanowires showed a well defined morphology which could be very interesting for lasing applications. PACS 81.05.Ys; 81.10.Bk; 85.40.Ux     

Polarization and piezoelectricity in polymer films with artificial void structure

Laminated polymer-film systems with well-defined void structures were prepared from fluoroethylenepropylene (FEP) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layers. First the PTFE films were patterned and then fusion-bonded with the FEP films. The laminates were subjected to either corona or contact charging in order to obtain the desired piezoelectricity. The build-up of the “macro-dipoles” in the laminated films was studied by recording the electric hysteresis loops. The resulting electro-mechanical properties were investigated by means of dielectric resonance spectroscopy (DRS) and direct measurements of the stress-strain relationship. Moreover, the thermal stability of the piezoelectric d ₃₃ coefficient was investigated at elevated temperatures and via thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) current measurements in short circuit. For 150 μm thick laminated films, consisting of one 25 μm thick PTFE layer, two 12.5 μm thick FEP layers, and a void of 100 μm height, the critical voltage necessary for the build-up of the “macro-dipoles” in the inner voids was approximately 1400 V, which agrees with the value calculated from the Paschen Law. A quasi-static piezoelectric d ₃₃ coefficient up to 300 pC/N was observed after corona charging. The mechanical properties of the film systems are highly anisotropic. At room temperature, the Young’s moduli of the laminated film system are around 0.37 MPa in the thickness direction and 274 MPa in the lateral direction, respectively. Using these values, the theoretical shape anisotropy ratio of the void was calculated, which agrees well with experimental observation. Compared with films that do not exhibit structural regularity, the laminates showed improved thermal stability of the d ₃₃ coefficients. The thermal stability of d ₃₃ can be further improved by pre-aging. E.g., the reduction of the d ₃₃ value in the sample pre-aged at 150°C for 5 h was less than 5% after annealing for 30 h at a temperature of 90°C.     

氢化硅薄膜介观力学行为及其与微结构内禀关联特性

使用等离子体增强化学气相沉积系统，在射频和直流负偏压的双重激励下制备了本征和掺杂后的氢化硅薄膜.利用拉曼谱对薄膜进行了微结构分析，用纳米压痕系统研究了薄膜的介观力学行为.研究表明：制备于玻璃衬底上的氢化硅薄膜，由于存在非晶态的过渡缓冲层，弹性模量小于相应的制备于单晶硅衬底的薄膜.对于掺杂的氢化硅薄膜，由于磷的掺入使得薄膜晶粒细化、有序度提高，薄膜的晶态比一般在40％以上.而硼的掺入，薄膜晶态比减小，一般低于40％.同时发现，掺磷、本征和掺硼的氢化硅薄膜分别在晶态比为45％，30％和15％左右处，弹性模量较 关键词： 氢化硅薄膜 拉曼谱 弹性模量 晶态比     

Templated Grain Growth of Textured Piezoelectric Ceramics

Crystallographic texturing of polycrystalline ferroelectric ceramics offers a means of achieving significant enhancements in the piezoelectric response. Templated grain growth (TGG) enables the fabrication of textured ceramics with single crystal-like properties, as well as single crystals. In TGG, nucleation and growth of the desired crystal on aligned single crystal template particles results in an increased fraction of oriented material with heating. To facilitate alignment during forming, template particles must be anisometric in shape. To serve as the preferred sites for epitaxy and subsequent oriented growth of the matrix, the template particles need to be single crystal and chemically stable up to the growth temperature. Besides templating the growth process, the template particles may also serve as seed sites for phase formation of a reactive matrix. This process, referred to as Reactive TGG (RTGG), has been used to obtain highly oriented Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-PbTiO₃, Sr_0.53Ba_0.47Nb₂O₆, and (Na_1/2Bi_1/2)TiO₃-BaTiO₃. Highly oriented Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, Sr₂Nb₂O₇, CaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅, Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-PbTiO₃, Sr_0.53Ba_0.47Nb₂O₆ and (Na_1/2Bi_1/2)TiO₃-BaTiO₃ ceramics have been produced by TGG. The resulting ceramics show texture levels up to 90%, and significant enhancements in the piezoelectric properties relative to randomly oriented ceramics with comparable densities. For example, piezoelectric coefficients of textured piezoelectrics are from 2 to 3 times higher than polycrystalline ceramics and as high as 90% of the single crystal values. In textured PMN-PT, a low field (< 5 kV/cm) piezoelectric coefficient (d ₃₃) of ～1600 pC/N was obtained with > 0.3% strain (at 50 kV/cm). The high field dielectric and electromechanical properties of textured perovskites are more hysteretic than those of single crystals, probably as a result of clamping by the residual template particles, residual random grains, the presence of non-ferroelectric second phases, and a wide orientation distribution. Lateral clamping of one grain by another may also be an important factor in fiber-textured samples. Means to further improve the quality of texture and thus properties of textured piezoelectric ceramics by TGG are presented.     

A comparative study of fibre-textured and epitaxial Nb-doped Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 thin films on different substrates

Fibre-textured and epitaxial Nb-doped Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (PNZT) thin films were grown on the different substrates by a sol-gel process. The [1 0 0]- and [1 1 1]-fibre-textured polycrystalline PNZT films were obtained on platinized silicon substrates by introducing PbO and TiO₂ seeding layers, while the [0 0 1]- and [1 1 1]-oriented epitaxial PNZT films were formed directly on Nb-doped SrTiO₃ (Nb:STO) single-crystal substrates with (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces, respectively. The preferential orientation and phase structure of the fibre-textured and epitaxial PNZT films, as well as their influences on the electrical properties were investigated. Higher remnant polarization (P_r) and piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃) were obtained for the epitaxial PNZT films on Nb:STO substrates than that for the fibre-textured ones on platinized silicon substrates. For both fibre-textured and epitaxial cases, the PNZT films with [1 0 0]/[0 0 1] orientations show higher piezoelectric responses than [1 1 1]-oriented ones, whereas better ferroelectric properties can be obtained in the latter. The intrinsic and extrinsic contributions were discussed to explain the difference in electrical properties for differently oriented fibre-textured and epitaxial PNZT films on different substrates.     

Electronic properties of ultrathin films based on pyrrolofullerene molecules on the surface of oxidized silicon

Results of the investigation into the interface formation during the deposition of the films based on aziridinylphenylpyrrolofullerene (APP-C₆₀) up to 8 nm thick on the surface of the oxidized silicon substrate are presented. The procedure of detecting reflection of testing low-energy electron beam from the surface implemented in the total current spectroscopy mode with a change in the incident electron energy from 0 to 25 eV is used. The structure of maxima in the total current spectra induced by the APP-C₆₀ deposited film is established, and the character of interrelation of these maxima with π* and σ* energy bands in the studied materials is determined. It is revealed due to analyzing the variation in intensities of the total current spectra of the deposited APP-C₆₀ film and the (SiO₂)n-Si substrate that the APP-C₆₀ film is formed at the early deposition stage with the coating thickness thinner than one monolayer without the formation of the intermediate modified organic layer. As the APP-C₆₀/(SiO₂)n-Si interface is formed, the work function of the surface increases by 0.7 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from substrate (SiO₂)n-Si toward the film APP-C₆₀. The optical absorption spectra of the APP-C₆₀ films are measured and compared with the spectra of films of unsubstituted C₆₀.     

Bipolar cycling effects in BiFeO3–BaTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics

BiFeO₃–BaTiO₃ (BF-BT) lead-free piezoelectric system has been paid much attention due to good piezoelectric properties and high Curie temperature. Poling is a process to align ferroelectric domains and increase the piezoelectric coefficients. During the poling process, unipolar direct current (dc) electric fields were applied conventionally, but recently bipolar alternating current (ac) cycling was reported to improve piezoelectric properties in rhombohedral structure piezoelectric materials. We investigated the effects of dc-poling and ac-cycling in BF-BT ceramics. The d₃₃ increased from 210 pC/N with dc-poling to 240 pC/N with ac-cycling in the morphotropic phase boundary region of BF-BT with domain engineering. This improvement of piezoelectric properties with ac-cycling was consistent with the structural evolution related to ferroelectric domains.     

Columnar-grown porous films of lithium manganese oxide spinel (LiMn2O4) prepared by ultrasonic spray deposition

Using LiNO₃ and Mn(Ac)₂ as raw materials, ultrasonic spray deposition (USD) technique was used to fabricate LiMn₂O₄ films on platinum substrate at different substrate temperatures from 310 to 390 °C. The prepared thick films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical performance of the USD-derived films was also evaluated with LiMn₂O₄/Li cells. It is found that all of the LiMn₂O₄ films are porous and composed of orderly oriented columnar particles. The substrate temperature affects the fine microstructure of the columnar particles. The film prepared at 360 °C substrate temperature give rise to best electrochemical behavior.     

PMN-PT single crystal thick films on silicon substrate for high-frequency micromachined ultrasonic transducers

In this work, a novel high-frequency ultrasonic transducer structure is realized by using PMNPT-on-silicon technology and silicon micromachining. To prepare the single crystalline PMNPT-on-silicon wafers, a hybrid processing method involving wafer bonding, mechanical lapping and wet chemical thinning is successfully developed. In the transducer structure, the active element is fixed within the stainless steel needle housing. The measured center frequency and −6 dB bandwidth of the transducer are 35 MHz and 34%, respectively. Owing to the superior electromechanical coupling coefficient (k _t ) and high piezoelectric constant (d ₃₃) of PMNPT film, the transducer shows a good energy conversion performance with a very low insertion loss down to 8.3 dB at the center frequency.     

In-situ strain effect on extrinsic transport of polycrystalline La0.7(Ca,Sr)0.3MnO3 films

The spin-polarised transport in ferromagnetic polycrystalline La_0.7(Sr,Ca)_0.3MnO₃ films on piezoelectric substrate has been investigated. The systematic study involved in finding the effect of in-situ strain on extrinsic electrical transport of various thick polycrystalline La_0.7(Sr,Ca)_0.3MnO₃ thin films. The in-situ strain in the manganite polycrystalline thin film is achieved by applying an electric field to the piezoelectric substrate 0.72 Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.28 PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT). A reversible strain of about 0.11% is acquired with an application of 10 kV/cm to the piezoelectric substrate. A typical drop in resistance at low magnetic fields has been found in all the polycrystalline manganite films. The effect of reversible strain versus the resultant strain gauges was discussed in all the polycrystalline films. At low temperatures, the effect of strain on low-field magnetoresistance and high-field magnetoresistance was found to be negligible. Further, the results are compared with the transport in manganite films deposited on step edge junctions.