Piezoelectric properties of various printed PZT microsystems

Free-standing PZT thick-films and completely released devices can be interesting for MEMS applications, avoiding the mechanical effect of the substrate on their electromechanical properties. Improvements of the electromechanical properties of free-standing and completely released electroded piezoelectric Au/PZT/Au thick-films with different geometries are studied. They are successfully fabricated thanks to the association of the low-cost screen-printing technology with the sacrificial layer method. Free-standing electroded and completely released PZT thick films appear promising for microsystems applications.