A film of PZT-PMN composition was fabricated by the deposition of fine powder entrained in airflow on to a substrate at the temperature of 20 °C. The particle flow generated by a jet mill desintegrator circulated inside the cylindrical substrate tube producing a build up on the internal surface of the cylinder. The resulting film, 70 – 150 µm thick was mechanically removed (delaminated) from the substrate and sintered at 800 °C. Microscopic examination of the green and sintered films revealed a very dense microstructure with a grain size for the sintered film of 0.2 – 0.8 µm. The relative permittivity at 1 kHz was about 100 before sintering and 2000 after sintering (unpoled). The permittivity of the sintered film had the same value as for bulk ceramic samples fabricated from the same powder using conventional isostatic pressing technique and sintered at 1250 °C to 97 % of the theoretical density.

The study showed that the properties of the green body produced by the powder deposition process were superior to the properties of bulk samples prepared by the conventional pressing procedure. The method provides a route for the formation of a fine grain microstructure, and a sintering temperature 450 °C lower than the accepted sintering temperature for this PZT-PMN composition.