Microscale 1-3-type lead-free piezoelectric/ferrite composites fabricated by a modified dice-and-fill method

This paper introduces a facile method to fabricate magnetoelectric (ME) composites with microscale lead-free piezoceramic pillars embedded in a ferrite matrix without high-temperature co-sintering. The microscale piezoceramic pillars with a sectional width of about 150 µm were obtained from lead-free piezoceramic discs by a dicing method. The spacing between the pillars was backfilled with cobalt ferrite (CFO) nanoparticles, and then a liquid epoxy was infiltrated into the backfilled spacing to bond the filled particles and the pillars. The ME property of the resultant 1-3-type piezoelectric/ferrite composites was verified and found to be significantly dependent on the filling density of the CFO powder, which could be adjusted by repeating the filling step. A maximum ME voltage response of up to 302 µV Oe-1 was obtained in a 700 µm high composite with pillars of 150 µm width and 200 µm spacing. The present method provides a potential way to fabricate finescale multiferroic composites for microdevice applications. (paper)