Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287

Short communication

Pyroelectric properties of BST/PLT composite thick films

with addition of xPbO–(1 − x)B2O3 glass
Rong Wu, Piyi Du ∗ , Wenjian Weng, Gaorong Han
State Key Lab of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China
Received 1 December 2005; received in revised form 11 February 2006; accepted 25 February 2006

Abstract
The Bax Sr1−x TiO3 (BST)/Pb1−x Lax TiO3 (PLT) composite thick films (∼20 ␮m) with 12 mol% amount of xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives
(x = 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8) have been prepared by screen-printing the paste onto the alumina substrates with silver bottom electrode. X-ray
diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an impedance analyzer and an electrometer were used to analyze the phase structures,
morphologies and dielectric and pyroelectric properties of the composite thick films, respectively. The wetting and infiltration of the liquid phase
on the particles results in the densification of the composite thick films sintered at 750 ◦ C. Nice porous structure formed in the composite thick films
with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass as the PbO content (x) is 0.5 ≥ x ≥ 0.35, while dense structure formed in these thick films as the PbO content (x) is
0.8 ≥ x ≥ 0.65. The volatilization of the PbO in PLT and the interdiffusion between the PLT and the glass lead to the reduction of the c-axis of the
PLT phase. The operating temperature range of our composite thick films is 0–200 ◦ C. At room temperature (20 ◦ C), the BST/PLT composite thick
films with 0.35PbO–0.65B2 O3 glass additives provided low heat capacity and good pyroelectric figure-of-merit because of their porous structure.
The pyroelectric coefficient and figure-of-merit FD are 364 ␮C/(m2 K) and 14.3 ␮Pa−1/2 , respectively. These good pyroelectric properties as well
as being able to produce low-cost devices make this kind of thick films a promising candidate for high-performance pyroelectric applications.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: BST; PLT; Composites thick films; Pyroelectric properties; xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass

1. Introduction sintered at high temperature of ≥1300 ◦ C since the densification

Ferroelectrics Bax Sr1−x TiO3 (BST) and Pb1−x Lax TiO3
(PLT) ceramics have shown great promise for pyroelectric sen-
sors and actuators for their good dielectric and pyroelectric
properties [1]. Generally, the thin ceramic sensitive elements
are processed from pyroelectric ceramic block with compli-
cated cutting and grinding machinery. The utilization ratio of
the material is only about 5% due to the waste caused by cutting
and grinding process [2]. Thick films have been studied as can-
didates for such applications for the potential benefits of lower
fabrication costs and better properties compared to the thin film
forms [3]. Composite BST/PLT thick films produce better prop-
erties such as good temperature stability of dielectric properties
and high pyroelectric coefficient in a wide temperature range,
which are difficult to be achieved in a single ferroelectric mate-
rials. The early studies showed that the thick films are normally
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 571 87952324; fax: +86 571 87952341.
E-mail address: dupy@zju.edu.cn (P. Du).
must occur by solid state sintering process, and the interdiffusion
among several phases usually homogenizes the composition of
different phases. Therefore, numerous kinds of glasses have been
developed as sintering aids for ferroelectrics, such as BaLiF3 ,
PbO–B2 O3 , PbO–Cu2 O, etc. [4–6], and the homogenization of
the different phases is evitable when the densification of the thick
films occurs at low temperature (≤900 ◦ C). The glass may act
as a fluxing agent for liquid phase sintering as well as a modifier
of the dielectric properties. The extent of incorporation and the
distribution of the incorporated atoms may alter the Curie tem-
perature (Tc ), the sharpness of the transition, and the K value
of the thick films. Thus, glass compositions and chemical inter-
action between the glasses and the ceramic powders during the
sintering process are very important factors in controlling the
dielectric properties of the thick films.
The relative dielectric constant, dielectric loss, the pyroelec-
tric coefficient and the heat capacity are the major factors to
determine the figure-of-merit FD = p/{cp (εr ε0 tan δ)1/2 } of the
pyroelectric materials [1]. One way to lower the dielectric con-
stant is the incorporation of the low dielectric phase into the

0921-5107/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mseb.2006.02.068
 R. Wu et al. / Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287
materials such as low K glass and void space [7,8]. The porous
structure films exhibit lower values for the heat capacitance
as well as the thermal conductivity. Although the pyroelectric
coefficient is lower than that of the ceramics counterpart, the
figure-of-merits result to be higher [9].
The effects of the sintering temperature and the amount of
the PbO–B2 O3 glass additives on the structure and properties
of the BST/PLT composite thick films have been investigated
in our previous work [10]. The dielectric properties of ferro-
electrics depend on the microstructure to a large extent [11].
The xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass shows many anomalies in their
structures and properties, such as surface tension, viscosity, etc.,
because the B and Pb ions can exist in a number of different rela-
tionships with oxygen when the composition varies.
In this paper, the microstructure and the pyroelectric proper-
ties of the low temperature prepared BST/PLT composite thick
films with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additive are reported. The
effect of the PbO content (x) of xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass on the
microstructure and the dielectric and pyroelectric properties of
the composite thick films and the possible origins are discussed.
2. Experimental procedure
The sol–gel preparation of the BST (Ba0.80 Sr0.20 TiO3 ) and
PLT (Pb0.82 La0.18 TiO3 ) powders were shown in the reference
letters [10]. The xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass powders was synthe-
sized by melting the mixtures of the analytical grade PbO and
HBO3 in a 10% Rh–Pt crucible at 850 ◦ C for 2 h, and the PbO
contents (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass were 0.2, 0.35, 0.50,
0.65 and 0.80, respectively (in subsequent portions of this paper,
all references to composition will be in terms of mol% unless
wt% or vol% is specified). Pouring the melts into the de-ionized
water to form the glasses, which were ball-milled for 24 h to
obtain xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass powder. The melting point tem-
peratures of the glasses can be found from the phase diagram
and are all <700 ◦ C [12]. The melting losses were negligibly
small and is <1 wt%.
The as-synthesized BST and PLT powders were mixed to pre-
pare the precursor powder according to the molar ratio of 1:1,
and then 12 mol% amount of xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass powders
with various PbO contents were added into the precursor powder,
respectively (the molar volume is 25.8–28 cm3 /mol correspond-
ing to the PbO content 20–80%, and then the volume percent of
the glass powder in paste is relative invariable). Thick film pastes
were prepared by mixing the precursor powders (80 wt%) and
an organic vehicle (20 wt%) on a ball mill using yttria-stabilized
zirconia balls for 24 h to ensure thorough mixing of all of the con-
stituent parts. The viscosity of the paste was controlled between
20 and 40 Pa s at 25 ◦ C. Composite thick films were fabricated
by screen-printing the paste on alumina ceramic substrates with
silver bottom electrode, which was screen printed on the alumina
substrate and sintered at 850 ◦ C for 20 min, and the thickness is
∼20 ␮m. For all composite thick films, 8 ◦ C/min ramp-up and
8 ◦ C/min ramp-down rates were used after drying out the organic
solvent in the composite thick films at 250 ◦ C for 6 h. The sinter-
ing temperatures of the screen-printing thick films were 750 ◦ C,
and the hold time was 30 min. To enable electrical measure-
283
ments to be made through the composite thick films, silver top
electrodes (Ø 1 mm, 0.79 mm2 ) were deposited onto the sintered
composite thick films by using sputtering method.
The phase identification of the composite thick films was
measured by using X-ray diffraction (XRD, Philips X’pert XRD
system) with Cu K␣ radiation. The morphologies of the com-
posite thick films were observed by using scanning electron
microscope (SEM, FEI SIRION). The heat capacity of the thick
films was measured by using a differential scanning calorimeter
(DSC, TA Instruments SDT Q600). The dielectric and pyroelec-
tric properties of the composite thick films were measured by
using an impedance analyzer (Agilent 4294A) and an electrom-
eter (Keithley 6517A), respectively.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Structural and microstructural characterization
Fig. 1 shows the single-phase perovskite structure for both
BST and PLT powders after sintered at 850 ◦ C for 2 h and
the amorphous structure for all the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass
powders. All the peaks can be identified according to JCPDS
(PLT#80-1150 and BST#44-0093). The structure of the PLT is
typical tetragonal, and the lattice parameters are a = 3.9138 Å
and c = 3.9980 Å, and the tetragonality is 1.02, which is smaller
than that of the ceramics reported in literature (∼1.033) and the
reduction of the tetragonality is attributed to the grain size effect
[13]. For BST powder, the (1 0 0) and (0 0 1) peaks cannot be
distinguished from each other, and neither the (2 0 0) and (0 0 2)
peaks. The dielectric measurements show that the BST thick
films have a Tc above room temperature. The structure of BST
is therefore pseudocubic at the room temperature, and the lattice
parameter is 3.9774 Å.
Fig. 2 gives the XRD patterns for the composite thick films
with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives, and the PbO con-
tent (x) is 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively. Each peak
except the overlap peaks has been identified as shown in Fig. 2
according to the peaks shown in Fig. 1. The peaks at about
2θ = 21.5◦ , 44◦ , 50.3◦ and 55.6◦ , belonging to the (0 0 1) plane,
Fig. 1. XRD patterns for BST, PLT powders and the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass,
and the PbO content (x) is 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively.
284 R. Wu et al. / Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287
Fig. 2. XRD patterns for the composite thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3
glass additives sintered at 750 ◦ C for 30 min, and the PbO content (x) is 0.2,
0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively.
(0 0 2) plane and (1 1 2) plane of PLT phase in composite thick
films, respectively, shift to the high 2θ angle with increasing the
PbO content (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass. When the PbO
content (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass is ≥50%, these peaks
merge with the PLT(1 0 0) plane, BST(2 0 0) plane, BST(2 0 1)
and BST(2 1 1) plane, respectively. The shift of the peaks indi-
cates the reduction of c-axis of PLT phase, which is caused by
the Pb deficiency in the PLT phase.
The Pb atoms act as network modifier in the low-PbO glass
(<40% PbO) and the Pb–O–Pb networks are presents in the glass
with >40–50 mol% PbO content [14,15]. In typical glasses, the
diffusive movement of network atoms is very slow. In compar-
ison, the motion of the modifier cations is much faster as they
move easily through the interstitial space in the network [16].
The Pb deficiency in PLT can be easily generated by the PbO
volatilization and the interdiffusion. When the PbO content (x)
Fig. 3. SEM micrographs (SEI) of the surface morphologies of the composite thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives sintered at 750 ◦ C for 30 min,
and the PbO content (x) is: (a) 0.2, (b) 0.35, (c) 0.5, (d) 0.65, (e) 0.8 and (f) fracture surface, respectively.
of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass is <40%, the Pb atoms in the
glass can diffuse into the PLT and compensate the Pb deficiency
in PLT. Whereas the PbO content (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3
glass is >40%, the Pb atoms start to act as network former and
it is hard to diffuse into the PLT phase, and therefore the Pb
deficiency in PLT leads to the slight reduction of the c-axis. It
can be concluded that both the volatilization of the PbO in PLT
and the interdiffusion between the PLT and the glass lead to the
reduction of the c-axis of PLT phase.
Fig. 3a–f shows the surface morphologies of the composite
thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives, and the
PbO content (x) is (a) 0.2, (b) 0.35, (c) 0.5, (d) 0.65 and (e) 0.8,
respectively. It is found that the “wetting” and “infiltration” of
the liquid phase on the particles is good, and the microstructures
of the composite thick films depend on the PbO content (x) of
the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass to a large extent. Fig. 3a reveals the
existence of the big pores in the composite thick films when the
PbO content is 0.2. Fig. 3b and c shows nice porous structure in
the composite thick films when the PbO content (x) is 0.35 and
0.5. The aggregated particles are smaller and the porous structure
is more uniform than those in Fig. 3a. Fig. 3d and e shows
that the dense microstructure comes into exist in the composite
thick films when the PbO content is ≥0.65. Fig. 3f shows the
fracture structure of the composite thick films when the PbO
content is 0.5. The composite thick films with uniform thickness
of ∼20 ␮m were obtained by the screen-printing and sintering.
Assuming the composite thick films with 0.80PbO–0.20B2 O3
glass in Fig. 3e has achieved theoretical density, the pore volume
in the composite thick films with 0.50PbO–0.50B2 O3 glass or
0.35PbO–0.65B2 O3 glass would account to ∼20%, which was
confirmed by measuring the heat capacity of the thick films.
The properties of the liquid phase derived from
xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass are the main factor to affect
the microstructures of the composite thick films. In the
xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass system, the viscosity gradually
 R. Wu et al. / Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287 285

decreases with decreasing the PbO content, and the surface
tension was found to increase with increasing PbO content from
0.2 to 0.5 and shown a maximum at 0.5 and then decreases with
further PbO content increasing [17]. The mechanism of the
liquid phase affecting the microstructure can be explained by
using P. Basa’s model [18]. The high surface energy originated
from the small particle size is the major driving force to
form the BST/PLT particles encapsulated by the liquid phase
structures. The plastic deformation of the liquid phase and the
encapsulation process will lower the total surface energy of the
thick films. Variation in both the viscosity and surface tension
of the liquid phase will lead to the different microstructure
occurring in the thick films. Nice porous structure formed in
the composite thick films with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass as the
PbO content (x) is 0.5 ≥ x ≥ 0.35, while dense structure formed
in these thick films as the PbO content (x) is 0.8 ≥ x ≥ 0.65.
3.2. Dielectric properties and pyroelectric properties
Fig. 4a and b shows the relative dielectric constant (εr ) and the
dielectric loss (tan δ) as a function of temperature of the compos-
ite thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives, and
the PbO content (x) is 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively.
The measurement frequency is 10 kHz. One can observe two
maxima of the dielectric constant corresponding to two phase
transitions (∼70 and ∼169 ◦ C). The Curie temperatures of the
BST and PLT are both known to be dependent on the Sr and La
content, respectively, and the maxima at ∼70 and ∼169 ◦ C are
attributed to the phase transition of BST and PLT, respectively.
The low-temperature maximum is very distinct for the compos-
ite thick films when the PbO content (x) is ≥0.5, and disappears
gradually with increasing the PbO content (x). The diffuseness
of the dielectric peaks at ∼169 ◦ C increases as increasing the
PbO content (x) rapidly, which indicates a broadening phase
transition occurring at ∼169 ◦ C. The existence of the residual
pores and the low ε second phase lower the relative dielectric
constant of the composite thick films compared with the thick
films without glass addition. The dielectric loss is higher than
that of the BST thick films [19] and increase with increasing the
PbO content (x).
Fig. 5 shows the pyroelectric coefficient as a func-
tion of temperature of the composite thick films with the
xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives, and the PbO content (x) is
0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively. The pyroelectric cur-
rents were measured by the Byer and Roundy method [20]. The
samples were firstly poled at 150 ◦ C at 2 kV/mm in silicone oil
for 1 h and secondly poled at 50 ◦ C at 2 kV/mm in silicone oil for
1 h (poling process for all the specimens was kept the same). The
samples were then cooled down to approximately 0 ◦ C with the
bias field on, and short-circuited to neutralize any accumulated
surface charge. The samples were heated at 5 ◦ C/min from 0 up
to 200 ◦ C, and the pyroelectric current was measured at a con-
stant temperature interval (5 ◦ C). The pyroelectric coefficient
was calculated from the following equation:
−I
p= (1)
A(dT/dt)
where I is the current in ␮A, A the metal contact area in m2 ,
and dT/dt is the temperature ramp rate in ◦ C/s. Thus, the pyro-
electric coefficient has a unit of ␮C/(m2 K). A final run from 5

Fig. 4. (a) The relative dielectric constant (εr ) and (b) the dielectric loss (tan δ) as a function of temperature for the composite thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3
glass additives sintered at 750 ◦ C for 30 min, and the PbO content (x) is 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively.

Fig. 5. The pyroelectric coefficient as a function of temperature for the composite thick films with the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives sintered at 750 ◦ C for
30 min, and the PbO content (x) is 0.2, 0.35, 0.5, 0.65 and 0.8, respectively.
286 R. Wu et al. / Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287
to 200 ◦ C was made to determine the peak pyroelectric coeffi-
cient after adjusting the sensitivity of the measurement system.
The data in the pyroelectric coefficient as a function of tem-
perature shows two maximum pyroelectric coefficient, and the
corresponding temperature is ∼65 and ∼165 ◦ C, which were
observed in the vicinity of respective ferroelectric Tc of the
BST and PLT. When the measurement temperature is approxi-
mately <65 ◦ C, the pyroelectric response of the composite thick
films was attributed to the spontaneous polarization of PLT and
BST. After the measurement temperature increasing to 70 ◦ C and
above, the pyroelectric coefficient decreases since the depolar-
ization of the BST phase occurs. At ∼95 ◦ C, BST almost acts as
a paraelectric phase, and the pyroelectric response of the com-
posite thick films only originated from the polarization of the
PLT phase. The pyroelectric coefficients of five composite thick
films decreased to zero at about ∼205 ◦ C, which means the spon-
taneous polarization of the PLT phase disappeared completely.
The operating temperature range of our composite thick films is
0–200 ◦ C.
As the PbO content (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass
increasing, the pyroelectric coefficients at Tmax (where the pyro-
electric coefficient shows maxima) decrease quickly whereas
those at temperatures out of Tmax are much slower. In
the temperature range 10–200 ◦ C, the composite thick films
with the 0.35PbO–0.65B2 O3 glass additives provide relative
good stability in pyroelectric coefficient compared with the
others.
Figure-of-merits are useful parameters for pyroelectric mate-
rials and are defined as follows: current response figure-of-merit
Fi = p/cp , voltage response figure-of-merit Fv = p/(cp εr ε0 ), and
detectivity figure-of-merit FD = p/{cp (εr ε0 tan δ)1/2 }, where p is
the pyroelectric coefficient, εr the relative dielectric constant,
ε0 = 8.853 × 10−12 F/m, tan δ the dielectric loss and cp is the
heat capacity per unit volume [1]. The figure-of-merits are often
used to evaluate the pyroelectric properties and to judge the suit-
ability of new materials for applications in pyroelectric infrared
detectors. A summary of the dielectric properties, pyroelectric
coefficients, and the calculated values of figure-of-merits of the
composite thick films with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives
are given in Table 1. The pyroelectric coefficient obtained in our
work is almost same as that of the other pyroelectric materials,
and is on the order of 500 ␮C/(m2 K) [1,21]. In this respect, the
porous structures do not offer advantages in pyroelectric coeffi-
cient, but in the figure-of-merits. However, it is not a detrimental
factor for pyroelectric applications of our porous thick films. In
addition, it is hard to make a comparison between properties of
Table 1
The values of εr , tan δ, P, cp and various figure-of-merits at 25 ◦ C for the composite thick films with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives sintered at 750 ◦ C for 30 min
Pb content in glass (%) εr (10 kHz) tan δ (10 kHz)
20 471 0.023
35 490 0.033
50 499 0.042
65 510 0.056
80 520 0.07
different ferroelectric materials because the variety of parame-
ters involved in their performance (e.g., composition, grain size,
sintering process, microstructure, poling conditions).
3.3. Effects of the PbO content (x) on the dielectric and
pyroelectric properties
The small particle size and the interdiffusion between
BST/PLT and the glass are the major factors affecting the broad-
ening the phase transition of the PLT and BST [10]. The dielec-
tric loss of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glasses are all <0.005 at the
frequency >1 kHz [22], so the increase the dielectric loss of the
composite thick films must has other origin. The increase in the
dielectric loss may be attributed to the defects produced by the
interdiffusion.
Along with increasing the PbO content (x) of the
xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass, the scarcity of BO4 units and the
decrease of a Pb atom coordination number varied the network
structure. The Pb ions start to act as network former in the glass
and the mobility of the Pb ions decreased rapidly when the PbO
content (x) is >40–50%. The composition gradient structure pro-
duced by the interdiffusion between the BST/PLT and the glass
will lead to the distribution in the phase transition temperature
around the original BST/PLT Curie temperatures, which will
result in a diffuse phase transition [23].
The composition gradient structure and defects produced by
the interdiffusion affect the polarization of the BST/PLT obvi-
ously, and therefore the pyroelectric coefficient of the composite
thick films originated form the polarization depends on the inter-
diffusion between the BST/PLT and the glass to a large extent.
When the PbO content (x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass is
≤50%, the interdiffusion between the BST/PLT and the glass
is weak, the maximum pyroelectric coefficient is high and the
peak sharp. As increasing the PbO content to ≥50%, the inter-
diffusion becomes significant and more defects come into exist
in the composite thick films, the pyroelectric peak is flatted and
the peak is broadened gradually. The defects generated by the
interdiffusion may capture the pyroelectric charge and lower
the pyroelectric coefficient, which may lead to the significant
decrease of the pyroelectric coefficients when the PbO content
(x) of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass is >65%.
The addition of the xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass to the thick films
is easy to produce the composite thick films with porous structure
or dense structure via controlling the PbO content (x) of the
xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additive. The composite thick films
with porous structure possess low heat capacity, and the cp values
P (␮C/(m2 K)) cp (J/(m3 K)) Fi (pm/V) Fv (m2 /C) FD (␮Pa−1/2 )
303 2.11 × 106 144 0.034 14.7
364 2.12 × 106 172 0.04 14.3
335 2.19 × 106 153 0.034 11.2
306 2.60 × 106 118 0.026 7.4
195 2.68 × 106 73 0.016 4.1
 R. Wu et al. / Materials Science and Engineering B 130 (2006) 282–287
of the composite thick films can be found from Table 1. The
peculiar thermal and electrical properties (low values of cp , εr )
of the composite thick films largely offset the special values of
figure-of-merits.
4. Conclusion
BST/PLT composite thick films (∼20 ␮m) with xPbO–
(1 − x)B2 O3 glass additives have been prepared by the screen-
printing method. The wetting and infiltration of the glass
phase on the particles is the dominant sintering process
in the BST/PLT composite thick films sintered as low as
750 ◦ C. Nice porous structure formed in the composite thick
films with xPbO–(1 − x)B2 O3 glass as the PbO content (x)
is 0.5 ≥ x ≥ 0.35, while dense structure formed in these thick
films as the PbO content (x) is 0.8 ≥ x ≥ 0.65. The volatiliza-
tion of the PbO and the interdiffusion between the PLT and
the glass lead to the reduction of the c-axis of the PLT phase.
The operating temperature range of our composite thick films
is 0–200 ◦ C. At room temperature (20 ◦ C), the BST/PLT com-
posite thick films with 0.35PbO–0.65B2 O3 glass additives pro-
vided low heat capacity and good pyroelectric figure-of-merit
because of their porous structure. The pyroelectric coefficient
and figure-of-merit FD are 364 ␮C/(m2 K) and 14.3 ␮Pa−1/2 ,
respectively. These good pyroelectric properties as well as
being able to produce low-cost devices make this kind of thick
films a promising candidate for high-performance pyroelectric
applications.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
China under contracts No. 50372057 and 50332030, and by Chi-
nese National Key Project for Fundamental Researches under
grant No. 2002CB613302, respectively.
287
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