Preparation of texture-controlled lead zirconate titanate diaphragm-type film actuator using a chemical solution method

A diaphragm-type (100)-dominant-oriented tetragonal phase lead zirconate titanate (PZT) film actuator was fabricated. The ferroelectric properties of the texture-controlled PZT film were comparable to those of bulk PZT ceramics. The displacement property of the PZT film actuator driven at +/- 20 V exhibited a butterfly-like hysteresis. However, this butterfly shape showed an opposite direction to that of the typical displacement curve of bulk PZT ceramics. This depressed displacement property of the PZT film appears to indicate bend motion in the vertical direction on the film surface since the film is not clamped, and it does not reflect the genuine piezoelectric property. For a unipolar drive, the value of the displacement was about 220 nm at 20 V. The deflection amplitude of the diaphragm actuator showed a peak at 77.5 kHz. Therefore, the diaphragm of the texture-controlled PZT film is considered to be applicable to microactuators.