Lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate (Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3)0.65–
(PbTiO3)0.35 (PMN-PT) piezoelectric plate sensor (PEPS). We currently use high precision wire saw with PMN-PT piece mounted on the wax substrate to cut huge pieces into small size to make sensors out of it. The main problem is that, the yield of the cutting is very bad. After the sensor are cut, they are very small and fragile so handling is a big problem ( currently we use weighing paper to move the sensors). Is there an alternative way to handle small, fragile and thin PMN-PT?
Have you tried placing on a plastic or wooden support and cutting with a sharp new scalpel blade?
We use glass slides to support the PMN-PT and cut it with scalpel blade, but the problem is we have a big piece (1cm x 2cm) from which we need to cutting smaller pieces (200μm x 50 μm).
You can use micro controlled diamond saw, It use epoxy to stack the substrate over flat mount and cut precisely.
Problem with diamond blade saw will be the loss of material given by the blade's width, problem with a wire saw will be the additional slack of the wire; so each cut will mean you loose at least 50 microns of material. Only cutting by scissors or scalpel will guarantee no loss but both work well only for ductile materials and may break the material if it is brittle. Try different supports: glass is not the best in any case. If the material is very brittle you could scratch a groove with the diamond scribe and then break it along that line, as is done for many semiconductors.
I wonder if pulsed laser might work here, we cut zirconia this way. (parameter optimisation to avoid heating better to do with some sacrificial materials...)
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Nanostructures
- Thin Films