Robocast Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 ceramic monoliths and composites

Robocasting, which is a computer-controlled slurry-deposition technique, was used to fabricate ceramic monoliths and composites of chemically prepared Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O-3 ceramics. The densities and electrical properties of the robocast samples were equivalent to those obtained for cold isostatically pressed parts formed under a pressure of 200 MPa, Three-layer robocast composites that consisted of alternating layers of different sintered densities- 93.9%/96.1 %/93,9%-were fabricated using different levels of organic pore-former additions. Modification from a single-material to a multiple-material deposition robocaster was essential for the fabrication of composites that could withstand repeated cycles of saturated polarization switching under fields of 30 kV/cm, Furthermore, these composites withstood a poled ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase transformation that was induced by a hydrostatic pressure of 500 MPa, during which strain differences on the order of 0.8% occurred between the composite elements.