Development of a thick-film magnetostrictive material: formulation and characterisation

Grabham, Neil Jonathan (2002) Development of a thick-film magnetostrictive material: formulation and characterisation. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

A magnetostrictive thick-film based upon the giant magnetostrictive material Terfenol-D is developed and characterised for use as a screen-printable actuator material.

It is envisaged that the material would be used to provide actuation in micromachined devices. The potential advantages of a screen-printable magnetostrictive material over the existing technologies are: that no direct electrical connection is needed to the material, unlike with piezoelectric materials; that the printing process can readily produce thicker layers than the deposition techniques used to produce thin-films can reasonably produce; devices with smaller and more intricate material geometry are achievable with the printing process than can be obtainable by the machining of bulk material. A review of currently published magnetostrictive technologies and their applications is presented and, although no other work currently exists regarding magnetostrictive materials in thick-film form, comparisons are drawn between both thin-film and adhesive-bonded composite forms and the novel thick-film formulation presented here.

The development and characterisation process of a magnetostrictive thick-film paste suitable for printing onto alumina substrates is presented, this includes the novel technique of adding a filler material to the paste to permit the use of larger active particles within the thick-film paste. This magnetostrictive thick-film technology is then migrated onto silicon substrates and further characterised. The route of further development and refinement of the material is outlined, and potential applications in the area of micromachined devices are proposed.

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