Fabrication and Characterization of PZT Thick Film Microstructure and T-Shaped Generator by Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing

Abstract

This paper presents the use of electrohydrodynamic jet (E-jet) printing technology for fabricating PZT thick film microstructures directly on substrate surfaces. The resolution of a single-layer thickness of 0.5 μm is about 40 times that of the screen printing and casting methods. The minimum microstructure gap of 10 μm is comparable to that of wet etching. Flexible control of microstructural functional characteristics and dimensions can be achieved. The 10 μm thickness “T” shape microstructure was printed on the flexible titanium alloy substrate by electrohydrodynamic jet printing technology. The beam-type generator was formed by a high-temperature cofiring process, which avoided the problems of adhesive accuracy and adhesive layer creep introduced by the adhesive process. XRD spectra confirm that the printed thick films crystallize into a standard perovskite structure at high temperatures without any impurities. The microstructure at this scale has good flexible deformation. The piezoelectric generator demonstrates a unit volume power generation of 0.26 × 10^–4 mV/μm³, roughly three times that of piezoelectric ceramic generators produced by spin coating. After 3000 vibration cycles, the output voltage of the generator remains stable, confirming the reliability of the printed microstructures and the potential of electrohydrodynamic jet printing in device applications.