Energy-storage-efficient 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.1PbTiO3 thick films integrated directly onto stainless steel

The integration of functional ceramics with metals remains challenging due to the thermally activated processes and the incompatibilities that arise during the high-temperature ceramic sintering process. In order to overcome this, low-temperature processing methods can be employed. In this work, dense 0.9Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.1PbTiO3 thick films were deposited on low-cost, stainless-steel substrates at room temperature using an aerosol-deposition method. The key material parameters for a successful aerosol deposition of the powder were identified and used in the process, which resulted in homogeneous 15-µm-thick films. The as-deposited films can withstand electric fields of 900 kV⋅cm−1 and exhibit promising room-temperature energy-storage properties: the recoverable energy density reaches 7.0 J⋅cm−3 with an energy-storage efficiency of ∼70%. A post-deposition stress relaxation by annealing at 500°C further improves the recoverable energy density, leading to 9.8 J⋅cm−3 at 900 kV⋅cm−1 with an energy-storage efficiency of ∼80%. The energy-storage performance exhibits excellent temperature stability up to 200°C and an electric-field cycling stability up to 16 million cycles. The low-temperature integration of energy-storage-efficient thick films onto stainless steel opens up possibilities for numerous new, pulsed-power and power-conditioning electronic applications.