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The effect of a transverse tensile stress on the electric-fieldinduced 90°-domain reorientation in tetragonal lead zirconate titanate (PZT) near the morphotropic phase boundary was investigated in situ using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD intensity ratio, I (002) /I (200) , which represents the ratio of the volume of the c-domains to that of the a-domains on the PZT surface, was examined as a function of the electric field at various stress levels. It was found that a transverse tensile stress changes the electric-field dependence of I (

Micropatterning of Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) thin films with line features as small as 350 nm was demonstrated through capillary molding of organometallic solutions within the continuous channels of an elastomeric mold. Despite the large stresses that develop during the evaporation of the solvent, pyrolysis of the organics, and the densification and crystallization of the inorganic gel, the patterned crystalline PZT films were crack-free and mechanically robust. Flawless regions as large as 1 cm 2 were obtained. The cross-sectional shape of the patterned PZT lines was trapezoidlike. Single perovskite PZT grains that formed during annealing at 600-700°C completely filled the cross-sectional area of the patterned lines. Lead acetate, zirconium propoxide, and titanium isopropoxide were used as the starting materials. Substrates used included silver tape, stainless steel plate, silicon wafer, and platinum-coated silicon wafer.

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We have examined experimentally and theoretically the resonance frequency of a lead zirconate titanate ͑PZT͒/brass unimorph disk transducer with a water ͑ice͒ layer on the brass surface. We showed that the flexural resonance frequency decreased with the presence of a water layer and the decrease in resonance frequency increased with an increasing water amount. Upon lowering the temperature, the freezing transition of the deposited water layer was detected when the resonance frequency of the transducer increased abruptly at the freezing temperature. In contrast to water, an ice layer increased the resonance frequency and the increase in the resonance frequency increased with the ice layer thickness. Theoretically, an analytic expression for the flexural resonance frequency of a unimorph transducer in the presence of an ice ͑water͒ layer on the brass surface was obtained in terms of the Young's moduli, densities, and thickness of the PZT, brass, and ice ͑water͒ layers. The theoretical predictions were shown to agree with the experimental results.