Advanced Piezoelectric Materials

Science and Technology

Kenji Uchino

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2017
• Edition: 2
• eBook ISBN:
  9780081012550
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Advanced Piezoelectric Materials: Science and Technology, Second Edition, provides revised, expanded, and updated content suitable for those researching piezoelectric materials or using them to develop new devices in areas such as microelectronics, optical, sound, structural, and biomedical engineering. Three new chapters cover multilayer technologies with base-metal internal electrodes, templated grain growth preparation techniques for manufacturing piezoelectric single crystals, and piezoelectric MEMS technologies. Chapters from the first edition have been revised in order to provide up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of developments in the field. Part One covers the structure and properties of a range of piezoelectric materials. Part Two details advanced manufacturing processes for particular materials and device types, including three new chapters. Finally, Part Three covers materials development for three key applications of piezoelectric materials. Dr. Kenji Uchino is a pioneer in piezoelectric actuators, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State University, and Director of the International Center for Actuators and Transducers. He has authored 550 papers, 54 books and 26 patents in the ceramic actuator area. - Features an overview of manufacturing methods for a wide range of piezoelectric materials - Provides revised, expanded, and updated coverage compared to the first edition, including three new chapters - Suitable for those researching piezoelectric materials or using them to develop new devices in areas such as microelectronics, optical, sound, structural, and biomedical engineering

Chapter 1

The Development of Piezoelectric Materials and the New Perspective

K. Uchino The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States

Abstract

Certain materials produce electric charges on their surfaces as a consequence of applying mechanical stress. The induced charges are proportional to the mechanical stress. This is called the direct piezoelectric effect and was discovered in quartz by Pierre and Jacques Curie in 1880. Materials showing this phenomenon also conversely have a geometric strain proportional to an applied electric field. This is the converse piezoelectric effect, discovered by Gabriel Lippmann in 1881.

This article first reviews the historical episodes of piezoelectric materials in the sequence of quartz, Rochelle salt, barium titanate, PZT, lithium niobate/tantalate, relaxor ferroelectrics, PVDF, Pb-free piezoelectrics, and composites. Then, the detailed performances are described in the following section, which is the introduction to each chapter included in this book. Third, since piezoelectricity is utilized extensively in the fabrication of various devices such as transducers, sensors, actuators, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices , frequency control, etc., applications of piezoelectric materials are also introduced briefly in conjunction with materials. The author hopes that the reader can “learn the history aiming at creating new perspective for the future in the piezoelectric materials.”

Keywords

Piezoelectric material; Quartz; Rochelle salt; Barium titanate; Lead zirconate titanate; Relaxor ferroelectrics; Pb-free piezoelectrics; Electromechanical coupling factor.

1.1 The History of Piezoelectrics

Any material or product has a lifecycle, which is determined by four “external” environmental forces, which can be summarized under the acronym STEP (Social/cultural, Technological, Economic, and Political forces).¹ We will observe first how these forces encouraged/discouraged the development of piezoelectric materials.

1.1.1 The Dawn of Piezoelectrics

The Curie brothers (Pierre and Jacques Curie) discovered direct piezoelectric effect in single crystal quartz in 1880. Under pressure, quartz generated electrical charge/voltage from quartz and other materials. The root of the word “piezo” means “pressure” in Greek; hence the original meaning of the word piezoelectricity implied “pressure electricity.” Materials showing this phenomenon also conversely have a geometric strain proportional to an applied electric field. This is the converse piezoelectric effect, discovered by Gabriel Lippmann in 1881. Recognizing the connection between the two phenomena helped Pierre Curie to develop pioneering ideas about the fundamental role of symmetry in the laws of physics. Meanwhile, the Curie brothers put their discovery to practical use by devising the piezoelectric quartz electrometer, which could measure faint electric currents; this helped Pierre's wife, Marie Curie, 20 years later in her early research.

It was at 11:45 pm on Apr. 10, 1912 that the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic occurred (see Fig. 1.1). As the reader knows well, this was caused by an iceberg hidden in the sea. This would have been prevented if the ultrasonic sonar system had been developed then. Owing to this tragic incident (social force), there was motivation to develop ultrasonic technology development using piezoelectricity.

Fig. 1.1 The sinking of the Titanic was caused by an “iceberg” in the sea.

1.1.2 World War I—Underwater Acoustic Devices With Quartz and Rochelle Salt

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to real investment to accelerate the de...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: The Development of Piezoelectric Materials and the New Perspective
• Part One: Piezoelectric Materials
• Part Two: Preparation Methods and Applications
• Part Three: Application Oriented Materials Development
• Index