Direct-Write Fabrication of Pb(Nb,Zr,Ti)O₃ Devices: Influence of Paste Rheology on Print Morphology and Component Properties

Lead niobium zirconate titanate (PNZT) pastes with tailored rheological properties have been developed for direct-write fabrication of thick-film capacitor elements in highly integrated, multifunctional electroceramic devices. Such pastes exhibited pseudoplastic behavior with a low shear apparent viscosity of roughly 1 × 10⁶ cP. On aging, the degree of shear thinning and the low shear apparent viscosity decreased. Pastes prepared from as-received powders attained printable, steady-state viscosities of ∼2 × 10⁵ cP after 50 days of aging. In contrast, pastes prepared from dispersant-coated powders showed no measurable rheological changes after 1 day of aging. Square elements were patterned on dense alumina substrates or Teflon sheets. Leveling behavior as a function of time for single line prints, and the resulting surface topographies of dried PNZT films were measured by laser profilometry. PNZT layers sintered at varying temperatures between 950° and 1050°C for 5 h in either air or a lead-rich atmosphere yielded porous microstructures as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such layers exhibited dielectric constants (K) of 1400-1570 at 1 kHz with dissipation factors (D) of less than 4.1%.