UV laser micromachining of piezoelectric ceramic using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser

UV laser (λ=355 nm) ablation of piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics in air has been investigated under different laser parameters. It has been found that there is a critical pulse number (N=750). When the pulse number is smaller than the critical value, the ablation rate decreases with increasing pulse number. Beyond the critical value, the ablation rate becomes constant. The ablation rate and concentrations of O, Zr and Ti on the ablated surface increase with the laser fluence, while the Pb concentration decreases due to the selective evaporation of PbO. The loss of the Pb results in the formation of a metastable pyrochlore phase. ZrO2 was detected by XPS in the ablated zone. Also, the concentrations of the pyrochlore phase and ZrO2 increase with increasing laser fluence. These results clearly indicate that the chemical composition and phase structure in the ablated zone strongly depend on the laser fluence. The piezoelectric properties of the cut PZT ceramic samples completely disappear due to the loss of the Pb and the existence of the pyrochlore phase. After these samples were annealed at 1150 °C for 1 h in a PbO-controlled atmosphere, their phase structure and piezoelectric properties were recovered again. Finally, 1–3 and concentric-ring 2–2 PZT/epoxy composites were fabricated by UV laser micromachining and their thickness modes were measured by impedance spectrum analysis and a d33 meter. Both composites show high piezoelectric properties.