ISSN 0862-5468 (Print), ISSN 1804-5847 (online) 

Ceramics-Silikáty 56, (3) 177 - 186 (2012)


TEMPLATE-ASSISTED FABRICATION AND DIELECTROPHORETIC MANIPULATION OF PZT MICROTUBES
 
Kovaľ Vladimír
 
Institute of Materials Research SAS, Watsonova 47, 043 53 Košice, Slovak Republic

Keywords: PZT, Microtubes, Vacuum infiltration, Dielectrophoresis
 

Mesoscopic high aspect ratio ferroelectric tube structures of a diverse range of compositions with tailored physical properties can be used as key components in miniaturized flexible electronics, nano- and micro-electro-mechanical systems, nonvolatile FeRAM memories, and tunable photonic applications. They are usually produced through advanced “bottom-up” or “topdown” fabrication techniques. In this study, a template wetting approach is employed for fabrication of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) microtubes. The method is based on repeated infiltration of precursor solution into macroporous silicon (Si) templates at a sub-atmospheric pressure. Prior to crystallization at 750oC, free-standing tubes of a 2-µm outer diameter, extending to over 30 µm in length were released from the Si template using a selective isotropic-pulsed XeF2 reactive ion etching. To facilitate rapid electrical characterization and enable future integration process, directed positioning and aligning of the PZT tubes was performed by dielectrophoresis. The electric field-assisted technique involves an alternating electric voltage that is applied through pre-patterned microelectrodes to a colloidal suspension of PZT tubes dispersed in isopropyl alcohol. The most efficient biasing for the assembly of tubes across the electrode gap of 12 µm was a square wave signal of 5 Vrms and 10 Hz. By varying the applied frequency in between 1 and 10 Hz, an enhancement in tube alignment was obtained.


PDF (3.7 MB)
 
Licence Creative Commons © 2015 - 2024
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics of the CAS & University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
Webmaster | Journal Contact