Additive manufacturing of functional ceramics through digital light processing

Abstract

Barium titanate (BaTiO3) and silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramics exhibit outstanding dielectric, thermal, and mechanical properties, making them promising candidates for applications in electronics, energy harvesting, and high-temperature environments. BaTiO3 is a widely used lead-free piezoelectric ceramic with a high dielectric constant and strong ferroelectric behavior, while SiOC, as a polymer-derived ceramic (PDC), offers excellent thermal stability, low dielectric loss, and tunable electrical conductivity. However, conventional ceramic processing techniques often struggle to produce components with complex structures and high resolution, limiting their functional potential.
In this project, digital light processing (DLP) was employed to fabricate BaTiO3 and SiOC ceramics due to its high precision and suitability for printing complex microstructures. For BaTiO3, a high-solid-loading slurry was developed, and the effects of various mixing methods on slurry stability were evaluated. Two DLP printing modes were applied, and optimal printing parameters were determined. Additionally, the influence of sintering temperature on BaTiO3 properties was examined. The final ceramic demonstrated a dielectric constant of 2260, dielectric loss of 0.026, and a piezoelectric coefficient of 222.3 pC/N, confirming its potential for use in energy harvesting devices.
For SiOC ceramics, an optimized sintering curve was established to ensure complete polymer-to-ceramic conversion. And the minimize printing resolution of SiOC slurry was also determined, achieving a printable resolution of 125 μm. Slurry stability was significantly improved through the neutralization of residual HCl using NaOH and the replacement of the monomer Butyl acrylate (BA) with hydroxyethyl acrylate (HA), extending shelf life from 3 to 25 days. Furthermore, the feasibility of using DLP-printed SiOC lattices as thermal shrouds in radar systems was explored. Dielectric measurements confirmed their suitability for high-frequency applications, and three lattice designs were proposed to enhance both thermal insulation and electromagnetic wave transparency.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Nottingham
Supervisor	Yinfeng He (Supervisor) & Yi Nie (Supervisor)