Fabrication of Microconfigured Multicomponent Ceramics

Microfabrication by coextrusion is a novel ceramic processing technique capable of creating complex ceramic‐metal structures. These structures are fabricated by multiple pass coextrusion of a feedrod comprised of several powder‐filled thermoplastic compounds. The compounds contain either ceramic, metal, or fugitive powders. To illustrate the capabilities of microfabrication, a demonstration part containing lead manganese niobate‐lead titanate ceramic and silver palladium was fabricated. The final part was microconfigured, with a fenestrated structure containing 3110 repeat units per square centimeter. The repeat unit feature sizes were 15 and 5 µm for the ceramic and electrode, respectively. Microfabrication by coextrusion is proposed as a fabrication technique for the production of smart structures and materials.