Thick polycrystalline pure PbTiO3 films with nano size grains were synthesized for the first time by aerosol deposition. Annealed 7 μm thick films exhibit well-saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops with a remanent polarization and coercive field of 35 μC/cm(2) and 94 kV/cm, respectively. A large-signal effective d33,eff value of >60 pm/V is achieved at room temperature. The measured ferroelectric transition temperature (Tc) of the films ∼550 °C is >50 °C higher than the reported values (∼490 °C) for PbTiO3 ceramics. First-principles calculations combined with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and structural analysis indicate that the film is composed of nano size grains with slightly decreased tetragonality. There is no severe off-stoichiometry, but a high compressive in-plane residual stress was observed in the film along with a high transition temperature and piezoelectric response. The ferroelectric characteristics were sustained until 200 °C, providing significant advancement toward realizing high temperature piezoelectric materials.

The ability to pattern piezoelectric thin films without damage is crucial for the development of microelectromechanical systems. Direct patterning of complex oxides through microcontact printing was explored as an alternative to subtractive patterning. This process utilized an elastomeric stamp to transfer a chemical solution precursor of a piezoelectric material onto a substrate in a desired pattern. Polyurethane-based stamps improved wetting of polar solutions on the stamp. This allowed for high-fidelity patterning over multiple stamping cycles. Microcontact printing deposited patterned PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 layers from 0.1 to 1 lm in thickness. The lateral feature sizes attained varied from 5 to 500 lm. Upon crystallization at 700°C, the features formed phase-pure perovskite PZT. The printed features had comparable electrical and electromechanical properties to those of continuous PZT films of similar thicknesses. For example, 1 lm thick PZT features had a permittivity of 1050 and a loss tangent of 0.02 at 10 kHz. The remanent polarization was 30 lC/cm 2 , and the coercive field was 45 kV/cm. The piezoelectric coefficient e 31,f was −7 C/m 2 . These values indicated that the microcontact printing process did not adversely affect the PZT crystallization or properties for the thicknesses explored in this work.

A piezoelectric nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) with integrated actuation and detection capabilities was fabricated using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films patterned by microcontact printing. PZT-coated cantilever resonators of various dimensions were fabricated to assess the variability in PZT properties as a function of the device dimensions; the microcontact-printed PZT was 281 nm thick. PZT layers of the cantilevers were poled at 107 kV/cm and 150 °C to improve their piezoelectric properties. It was demonstrated that PZT piezoelectrics can be utilized for simultaneous actuation and detection of resonance. The PZT cantilevers were analytically modelled to estimate values of their piezoelectric coefficient d31. Mechanical tip displacement detection of the cantilevers by laser vibrometer was also carried out to validate the estimation of d31.