Electrophoretic deposition of SrBi4Ti4O15 thick films on Al2O3 substrate

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a powerful route to obtain thick films onto conductive substrate. In this work, ferroelectric SrBi4Ti4O15 films up to 15 μm were prepared by EPD using submicrometer SrBi4Ti4O15 (SBT) powders. The ethanol was used as the solvent with addition of HCl and PVB (dispersant). The zeta potential of SBT powder in ethanol is low compared to some other ceramics such as PZT, so it tends to flocculate and is more difficult to be deposited. With addition of PVB, the suspension was then stabilized. The deposition kinetics and the effect of additives were observed and discussed using DLVO theory. From SEM and XRD observation, the films obtained were crack-free and grain-oriented.