Electromechanical properties and fatigue of antiferroelectric (Pb, La) (Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 thin film cantilevers fabricated by micromachining

Abstract

Electromechanical cantilevers comprising antiferroelectric (Pb, La) (Zr, Sn, Ti)O3 (PLZST) thin films were fabricated through bulk micro-machining process on silicon wafers, and their electromechanical properties including strain-fatigue behaviors of the antiferroelectric thin film cantilevers were investigated. The antiferroelectric cantilevers showed the distinct digital actuation characteristics with the strain generated due to the antiferroelectric–ferroelectric transformation. The maximum displacement per unit voltage around the phase switching field reached 16.7 μm/V, significantly larger than the typical piezoelectric cantilevers. Moreover, the antiferroelectric PLZST cantilevers exhibited superior strain-fatigue resistance compared to the similar piezoelectric microstructures. These results show the promising future of antiferroelectric materials in micro electromechanical systems.