B. Su, D.H. Pearce and T.W. Button
IRC in Materials Processing, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham,
Success in applications of piezoelectric materials depends not only on their performance but also on their processability and cost. Powder or colloidal powder processing is still the predominant fabrication method in industry for piezoelectric ceramic devices with dimensions larger than 10mm and is generally regarded as a low cost manufacturing route. Other chemical and/or vapour methods are generally acceptable in thin film (<10mm) applications. Previously we have reported the applicability of plastic forming routes to the fabrication of novel piezoelectric devices in net shape form. This presentation will review the latest developments we have made in the area of net shape forming of piezoelectric device structures – 3-D sensor and actuator structures, thick films, and small-scale structures with high aspect ratios for sensing and MEMS applications. The structure, microstructure and properties of the devices will be presented and discussed.
