Towards an Industry compatible high performances Lead free Piezoelectric thin film material for MEMS ACtuator applications – TILPAC

Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) is today, thanks to its high piezoelectric coefficients, the best performing material for piezoelectric micro-actuator applications. However, the presence of lead (Pb) in this material represents a threat for its long-term use in industry. Despite active research worldwide on lead-free piezoelectrics in the last decade, today no material seems to be able to replace PZT in PiezoMEMS industry. Increasing collaboration between scientists developing new materials and researchers in application-relevant properties, as gathered in TILPAC, is key for defining both a piezoelectric lead free material and a deposition process suitable for a considered application. This project aims at replacing lead based piezoelectric thin films considering the properties of both the material and the material integrated in capacitor structure, and the deposition process as a whole. Particular attention will be given to electrical properties: piezoelectric effect and leakage currents. TILPAC will address potassium sodium niobate (KNN) and bismuth sodium titanate (BNT) based ceramics thin films, carefully tuned for micro-actuator applications.