Two solution-based methods, metallo-organic decomposition and sol–gel processes, were used to study the effects of precursor solution type on the microstructure evolution and texture development of oriented PZT films. Microstructure development and perovskite content are strongly dependent on the heating rate. Fast heating rate forms a dense fine-grained microstructure with (111) orientation. I...

In this study, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/BiFeO3 [PZT/BFO] multilayer thin films were fabricated using the spin-coating method on a Pt(200 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/SiO2(100 nm)/p-Si(100) substrate alternately using BFO and PZT metal alkoxide solutions. The coating-and-heating procedure was repeated several times to form the multilayer thin films. All PZT/BFO multilayer thin films show a void-free, uniform grain s...

We report the first attempt to prepare a flexoelectric nanogenerator consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mwCNT). Direct-grown piezoelectrics on mwCNTs are formed by a stirring and heating method using a Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT)-mwCNT precursor solution. We studied the unit cell mismatch and strain distribution of epitaxial PZT nanoparticles, and found tha...

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is one of the most widely studied piezoelectric materials, mainly because of its 'mysterious' relationship between the so-called morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and its strong piezoelectric coupling factor. Using results from a pair distribution function analysis, this paper examines how the complex local structure in PZT affects the long-range average structure ...

Thepresent paper discusses active vibration control of a cantilever beam subjected to random base excitation. The smart materials used are piezoelectric patches for both as sensor and actuator, and actuation based on the surface strains. Finite element model of the smart beam is obtained using Euler-Bernoulli formulation. Positive Position Feedback (PPF) controller is proposed for active dampin...

We study transient ®nite deformations of a neoHookean beam or plate with piezoelectric (PZT) patches bonded to its upper and lower surfaces. The constitutive relations for the PZTs are taken to be linear in the Green-Lagrange strain tensor but quadratic in the driving voltage. A ®nite element code using 8-noded brick elements has been developed and validated by comparing computed results with e...

A highly-efficient, flexible piezoelectric PZT thin film nanogenerator is demonstrated using a laser lift-off (LLO) process. The PZT thin film nanogenerator harvests the highest output performance of ∼200 V and ∼150 μA·cm(-2) from regular bending motions. Furthermore, power sources generated from a PZT thin film nanogenerator, driven by slight human finger bending motions, successfully operate ...

The fabrication and structural characterization of a surface micromachined, resonant frequency, Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) microcantilever will be presented. The PZT microcantilever was fabricated using surface micromachining techniques, and used a low-stress silicon nitride thin film as the base material for the microcantilever onto which a PZT thin film was incorporated. The PZT thin film is used as ...

This paper provides a quantitative comparison and explores the design space of PZT-only (Lead Zirconium Titanate) and PZT-onSilicon length-extensional mode resonators for incorporation into RF MEMS filters and oscillators. We experimentally measured the correlation of motional impedance (RX) and quality factor (Q) with the resonators’ silicon layer thickness (tSi). For identical lateral dimensi...