Fabrication of Lead Zirconate Titanate Microrods for 1–3 Piezocomposites Using Hot Isostatic Pressing with Silicon Molds

A new lost‐mold process to fabricate piezoceramic microrods for 1–3 piezocomposites has been developed. A Si wafer was machined as a mold with a regular array of columnar cavities having a negative structure of piezoceramic microrods, by deep reactive ion etching (RIE). A lead zirconate titanate (PZT) slurry was cast into the Si mold and calcinated to burn out the binder, and fully condensed in the cavities by the glass‐encapsulated hot isostatic pressing technique. Finally, the Si mold was selectively removed by XeF 2 etching. PZT microrods with high aspect ratios (diameter <12 μm, aspect ratio >14), which can be used to construct high‐resolution micro‐ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging, were fabricated successfully by the present process.