Abstract
Laser annealing has been conventionally used for surface treatment, sintering of structural materials and crystallization of amorphous materials. This article describes the possibility to apply laser annealing for electronic ceramics. Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) films with a thickness of over 10 μm directly deposited onto stainless-steel substrates (PZT/SUS) by aerosol deposition (AD) technique have been annealed by infrared laser irradiation in order to improve their ferroelectric and/or piezoelectric properties. The metallic luster of the stainless-steel substrate has been retained after laser heating. The remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) values of the films annealed by laser irradiation was Pr > 40 μC/cm2 and Ec < 40 kV/cm, respectively, being superior to those of the PZT/SUS annealed by electric furnace. The area of grain growth for the irradiated PZT films coincides with the fascicle spot size. In contrast, in the case of bulk PZT, infrared laser irradiation with the same spot size is causing grain growth on a larger area (20 times the spot diameter). The combination of laser annealing and AD technique is attractive not only for production of electronic ceramics devices but also to confirm to heat treatment of electronic ceramics to the desired areas.
