Single crystals, which have complexed composition, are fabricated by solid state grain growth. However, it is hard to achieve stable properties in a single crystal due to trapped pores. Aerosol deposition (AD) is suitable for fabrication of single crystals with stable properties because this process can make a high density coating layer. Because of their unique features (nano sized grains, stress inner site), it is hard to fabricate single crystals, and so studies of grain growth behavior of AD film are essential. In this study, a BaTiO3 coating layer with ~ 9 μm thickness is fabricated using an aerosol deposition method on (100) and (110) cut SrTiO3 single crystal substrates, which are adopted as seeds for grain growth. Each specimen is heat-treated at various conditions (900, 1,100, and 1,300℃ for 5 h). BaTiO3 layer shows different growth behavior and X-ray diffraction depending on cutting direction of SrTiO3 seed. Rectangular pillars at SrTiO3 (100) and laminating thin plates at SrTiO3 (110), respectively, are observed.

Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) is used for the various piezoelectric devices owing to its high piezoelectric properties. However, lead (Pb), which is contained in PZT, causes various environment contaminations. (K,Na)NbO3 (NKN) is the most well-known candidate for a lead-free composition to replace PZT. A single crystal has excellent piezoelectric-properties and its properties can be changed by changing the orientation direction. It is hard to fabricate a NKN single crystal due to the sodium and potassium. Thus, (Na,K)NbO3-Ba(Cu,Nb)O3 (NKN-BCuN) is chosen to fabricate the single crystal with relative ease. NKNBCuN pellets consist of two parts, yellow single crystals and gray poly-crystals that contain copper. The area that has a large amount of copper particles may melt at low temperature but not the other areas. The liquid phase may be responsible for the abnormal grain growth in NKN-BCuN ceramics. The dielectric constant and tan δ are measured to be 684 and 0.036 at 1 kHz in NKN-BCuN, respectively. The coercive field and remnant polarization are 14 kV/cm and 20 μC/cm2.

This study examines paraelectric Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (BZN), which has no hysteresis and high dielectric strength, for energy density capacitor applications. To increase the breakdown dielectric strength of the BZN film further, poly(vinylidene fluoride) BZN-PVDF composite film is fabricated by aerosol deposition. The volume ratio of each composition is calculated using dielectric constant of each composition, and we find that it was 12:88 vol% (BZN:PVDF). To modulate the structure and dielectric properties of the ferroelectric polymer PVDF, the composite film is heat-treated at 200 oC for 5 and 30 minutes following quenching. The amount of α-phase in the PVDF increases with an increasing annealing time, which in turn decreases the dielectric constant and dielectric loss. The breakdown dielectric strength of the BZN film increases by mixing PVDF. However, the breakdown field decreases with an increasing annealing time. The BZN-PVDF composite film has the energy density of 4.9 J/cm3, which is larger than that of the pure BZN film of 3.6 J/cm3.

Lead free (Ba0.7Ca0.3) TiO3 thick films with nano-sized grains are prepared using an aerosol deposition (AD) method at room temperature. The crystallinity of the AD thick films is enhanced by a post annealing process. Contrary to the sharp phase transition of bulk ceramics that has been reported, AD films show broad phase transition behaviors due to the nanosized grains. The polarization-electric hysteresis loop of annealed AD film shows ferroelectric behaviors. With an increase in annealing temperature, the saturation polarization increases because of an increase in crystallinity. However, the remnant polarization and cohesive field are not affected by the annealing temperature. BCT AD thick films annealed at 700 ℃/2h have an energy density of 1.84 J/cm3 and a charge-discharge efficiency of 69.9%, which is much higher than those of bulk ceramic with the same composition. The higher energy storage properties are likely due to the increase in the breakdown field from a large number of grain boundaries of nano-sized grains.