Low-Temperature Processing of PZT Thick Film by Seeding and High-Energy Ball Milling and Studies on Electrical Properties

Lead zirconate titanate thick film with molecular formula PbZr0.52Ti0.42O3 (PZT) was prepared by a modified conventional sol-gel method through seeding and high-energy ball milling, resulting in perovskite phase formation at lower temperatures. The ball-milling time was optimized by keeping the seed particle loading (5 wt.%) constant in the sol-gel solution. This methodology helped in reduction of the crystalline phase formation temperature to 300A degrees C, which is much lower than that reported in the literature (450A degrees C). The well-established perovskite phase was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of PZT films revealed uniform and crystalline microstructure. Film prepared by this methodology showed higher spontaneous polarization (2.22 mu C/cm(2)), higher capacitance (1.17 nF), and low leakage current density (18 mu A/cm(2)). The results obtained from ferroelectric characterization showed a strong correlation with the XRD and SEM results.