Enhanced electrical properties of co-firing 0.7Pb(Zr0.46Ti0.54)O3–0.1Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.2Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 multilayer thick films prepared by screen-printing method

• Screen-printed multilayer thick films with Ag inner electrodes were fabricated.
• Laminated multilayer structure with clear interfaces of PZT and Ag was obtained.
• 11 layered specimens showed giant d33 and strain of 1883 pC/N and 0.66%.
• The voltage to obtain the same displacement was decreased from 3072 to 180 V.

In this study, high performance multilayer thick films composed of 0.7Pb(Zr0.46Ti0.54)O3–0.1Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.2Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3 with Ag inner electrodes have been successfully fabricated via screen-printing and co-firing process. The sintering temperature could be reduced to 900 °C through addition of 1 wt% low-melting sintering aids. Ag diffusion was not observed at 900 °C, indicating favorable coherence. Multilayer thick films with 5 layers showed optimal electric properties: d33, ε33T/ε0, tan δ, and Pr of 1021 pC/N, 1167, 1.92% and 56.44 μC/cm2. And 11 layered specimens exhibited giant d33 and strain of 1883 pC/N and 0.66% at 4 kV/mm. The applied voltage to obtain the same displacement was decreased from 3072 to 180 V for 11 layered specimens, compared to bulk ceramics. Such prominent properties indicate that co-fired PNN–PZN–PZT multilayer thick films are suitable for applications like micro-actuators and micro-transdusers in MEMS system.