Growth of lead-free piezoelectric doped BaTiO3-based thin film via PLD
Lead-based piezoelectric materials such as Pb(Zrx,Ti1-x)O3 (PZT) are widely used in sensors, actuators, transducers and energy harvesters because of their high piezoelectric (d33 and e33) coefficients. The presence of lead content, however, drives the need for alternatives with similar or better piezoelectric properties. Barium titanate (BaTiO3) is a lead-free candidate with good piezoelectric properties, though still below those of PZT. Recent studies have investigated compositional modifications to improve the piezoelectric coefficients of BaTiO3-based films, however, this remains a great challenge.
In this project, BaTiO3 thin films doped with Ca and Zr (other dopants also possible) will be grown using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to determine how dopants affect microstructure and piezoelectric coefficients.
MSc student tasks: We are looking for motivated MSc students with a background in physics, materials science, nanotechnology, or related fields. This multidisciplinary project includes several aspects, and you can focus on one or more depending on your interests:
- Finding ideal composition of doped BaTiO3 thin film
- Simulating the growth of doped BaTiO3 thin films using Monte Carlo-simulation
- Growing doped BaTiO3 thin films via PLD on various substrates and electrodes
- Characterizing thin films using AFM, XRD, TEM, and piezoelectric (d33 and e33) measurements
- Comparing and validating simulation outputs with experimental results
Contact:
Hannes Rijckaert (daily supervisor),h.rijckaert@utwente.nl, CR 3344
Gertjan Koster (supervisor), g.koster@utwente.nl, CR 3247