Piezoelectric Characteristics Research Articles

Design morphotropic phase boundary composition in the Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTio3 system and its performance

ABSTRACT Using composition designing, Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT) ceramics with compositions around the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were prepared by the solid-state reaction method via the columbite and wolframite precursor techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement and XRD peaks fitting combined with electrical performance characterization confirm the occurrence of composition-induced ferroelectric phase change, and the sintered PIN-PMN-PT ceramics present the coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal ferroelectric phases. Composition exerts great influence on the relative density of the sintered ceramics, and the 0.28Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.40Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.32PbTiO3 (0.28PIN-0.40PMN-0.32PT) ceramics exhibit rather uniform microstructural morphology with high relative density of 94.4%. Dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric performance characterization also confirm the existence of the MPB effects, where the composition having performance maximum presents slight difference, proving that MPB has the composition region. Dielectric response behavior fitting and Raman spectroscopy measurement confirm the PIN-PMN-PT ceramics approach normal ferroelectrics with apparent diffusive transition characteristic and the occurrence of composition-induced ferroelectric phase change.

Solution blow spinning of piezoelectric nanofiber mat for detecting mechanical and acoustic signals

AbstractSolution blow spinning (SBS) technique can produce nanofibers (NFs) mat in large‐scale production. In this work, the SBS was used to fabricate piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) NF membranes that can be utilized for energy harvesting applications. The effect of operating air pressure from (2–5 bar) on the surface morphology of the NFs has been studied. The structural analysis for crystalline polymorph β‐phase for PVDF powder, casted film, electrospinning and SBS NFs has also been presented with the aid of Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Piezoelectric characteristics of PVDF NFs mats were tested by applying impact impulse with different weights from different heights between 1 and 10 cm. The sensitivity of the voltage response increased from 1.71 mV/g to 8.98 mV/g, respectively. Besides, the SBS generated PVDF mat is found to be sensitive to pressure forces in a range of few Newtons with the generated voltage according to detected sensitivity of 80 mV/N based on the analysis of the impact of a few Hertz mechanical vibrations. In addition, the produced SBS NFs were applied as an acoustic signal detector within different acoustic frequencies. The results suggest that the β‐phase PVDF nanofibrous membrane produced via the SBS technique has a great potential to be used as a piezoelectric sensor.

Multi-stroke anti-hysteresis algorithm based on inverse model.

The control strategy of multi-stroke repetitive driving is often required in the micro-nano-system. However, the current research only focuses on the modeling algorithm of a single stroke; thus, it is difficult to realize the hysteresis compensation at any stroke of the piezoelectric actuator. This paper proposes a multi-stroke compensation algorithm combined with the inverse model: through the analysis of the hysteresis model, the rising trajectory with better linearity is defined as the target line to find a mathematical expression with fewer parameters to describe the falling trajectory, then to find the relationship between maximum stroke voltage and the above parameters to establish a mathematical model that can describe any stroke, and finally, to verify that the above model applies to any unknown stroke, thereby realizing multi-stroke compensation. The experimental results show that the hysteresis corrected rate after the above algorithm compensation is mostly over 85%, of which the maximum hysteresis corrected rate is 93.81% and the hysteresis error is less than 2.5%. Experiments prove the effectiveness of the above multi-stroke compensation algorithm based on the inverse model and extend the research on piezoelectric hysteresis characteristics to multi-stroke compensation.

Effect of Illumination on the Piezoelectric Characteristics of Quartz Resonators

Effect of Illumination on the Piezoelectric Characteristics of Quartz Resonators

Role of oxygen vacancy defects in piezoelectric thermal stability characteristics of Mn-doped (K,Na,Li)NbO3 piezoceramics

Piezoelectric thermal stability characteristics of (K,Na,Li)NbO3 ceramics were investigated with a particular focus on the role of oxygen vacancy defects, by excluding the lattice distortion or microstructural effects with the help of a low level of Mn doping (less than 1.0 mol%). Benefiting from the reduction of intrinsic oxygen vacancy defects, controlled Mn doping (0.25 mol%) could achieve excellent ferroelectric/piezoelectric activity and superior thermal aging resistance. Beyond this doping level, however, the defect dipoles combined with extrinsic oxygen vacancies, although advantageous to the hardening effect, deteriorated the piezoelectric thermal stability and aging resistance including room-temperature properties. The thermal dissociation and migration of oxygen-vacancy-associated defect dipoles were considered mainly responsible for negating the ability to restore the initial poled domain state with defect-dipole-induced polarization. Results demonstrated the importance of keeping the intrinsic and extrinsic oxygen vacancy levels as low as possible for lead-free (K,Na)NbO3 systems with more thermally stable domain structure.

Synergistic Effect of PVDF-Coated PCL-TCP Scaffolds and Pulsed Electromagnetic Field on Osteogenesis.

Bone exhibits piezoelectric properties. Thus, electrical stimulations such as pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) and stimuli-responsive piezoelectric properties of scaffolds have been investigated separately to evaluate their efficacy in supporting osteogenesis. However, current understanding of cells responding under the combined influence of PEMF and piezoelectric properties in scaffolds is still lacking. Therefore, in this study, we fabricated piezoelectric scaffolds by functionalization of polycaprolactone-tricalcium phosphate (PCL-TCP) films with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) coating that is self-polarized by a modified breath-figure technique. The osteoinductive properties of these PVDF-coated PCL-TCP films on MC3T3-E1 cells were studied under the stimulation of PEMF. Piezoelectric and ferroelectric characterization demonstrated that scaffolds with piezoelectric coefficient d33 = −1.2 pC/N were obtained at a powder dissolution temperature of 100 °C and coating relative humidity (RH) of 56%. DNA quantification showed that cell proliferation was significantly enhanced by PEMF as low as 0.6 mT and 50 Hz. Hydroxyapatite staining showed that cell mineralization was significantly enhanced by incorporation of PVDF coating. Gene expression study showed that the combination of PEMF and PVDF coating promoted late osteogenic gene expression marker most significantly. Collectively, our results suggest that the synergistic effects of PEMF and piezoelectric scaffolds on osteogenesis provide a promising alternative strategy for electrically augmented osteoinduction. The piezoelectric response of PVDF by PEMF, which could provide mechanical strain, is particularly interesting as it could deliver local mechanical stimulation to osteogenic cells using PEMF.

Twisted angle modulated structural property, electronic structure and carrier transport of MoS2/AlN(0001) mixed-dimensional van der Waals heterostructure

The emerging mixed-dimensional heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides with wide bandgap semiconductors of piezoelectric characteristics have shown excellent performance with novel pressure-modulation in flexible devices. Meanwhile, the recent introduction of “twist” at the interface of van der Waals (vdW) systems brought much flexibility in the manipulation of electrical and optical properties, giving rise to new physics. In this work, twisted angles ranging from 0° to 150° were introduced to the interface of the newly MoS2/AlN(0001) vdW mixed-dimensional heterostructures. Although all systems form type-I band alignment, the interfacial coupling can be evidently modulated by the twisted angles, leading to twisted angle-dependent structural characteristics, electronic structure, and carrier transport with a period of 60°. The most intriguing is that a large manipulating scale of band offset and carrier transmission window (intensity) can be achieved by specifying the rotation, suggesting an effective route to design the electronic structure. It was further revealed that twisted angle modulated interfacial coupling gives rise to a diversity of resonant states’ distribution in the momentum space. Our study not only systemically investigated the newly MoS2/AlN(0001) vdW mixed-dimensional heterostructure, but also proposed a novel route to effectively manipulate the properties of mixed-dimensional heterostructure layer by layer.

Domain structure evolution during alternating current poling and its influence on the piezoelectric properties in [001]-cut rhombohedral PIN-PMN-PT single crystals

Extensively studied PMN-PT and PIN-PMN-PT crystals with compositions close to the morphotropic phase boundary possess excellent piezoelectric characteristics. Recently developed alternating current treatment enhances the piezoelectric performance even further. Here, we demonstrate the results of studying the domain structure evolution by direct optical imaging during polarization reversal in [001]-oriented PIN-PMN-PT single crystals of rhombohedral phase during alternating current poling (ACP). The main types of domain structures involved in polarization reversal were revealed. Cross-like domain structure (CDS) was found to be undesirable for the piezoelectric application. The ACP-treatment proved to be effective in reducing the CDS fraction as a result of the growth of lens-shaped domains attributed to the 71° switching. The interaction of cross-like and lens-shaped domains was proposed as a key mechanism for improving the piezoelectric properties by the ACP-treatment. Comparison of the switching current with optical images revealed the correlation between the CDS area and electric field corresponding to the current maximum. This fact allows optimizing the number of the ACP-treatment pulses based on the switching current data without optical imaging.

Electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and magnetoelastic characteristics of a quantum spin chain system

Electric, piezoelectric, and elastic characteristics of the quantum spin-1/2 chain system are calculated. Using the exact analytical solution we show that electric permittivity, piezoelectric and elastic modules, and magnetic characteristics can manifest strong dependencies on the values of the external magnetic, electric field, external strain, and temperature.

Dielectric spectroscopy, piezoelectric and ferroelastic properties of solid solutions of the three-component system (1-x-y) NaNbO3 – xKNbO3 – yCdNb2O6 in the temperature range (10-330) K

A solid solution of the three – component system 0.8NaNbO3 – 0.15KNbO3-0.05CdNb2O6 was prepared by two-stage solid-phase synthesis followed by sintering using conventional ceramic technology. An experimental study of the dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelastic characteristics of the latter in the low-temperature range (10÷330) K. The conclusion is made about the expediency of using the obtained results in the development of functional ferroactive materials based on sodium – potassium – cadmium niobates and devices with their participation.

RETRACTED: Progress of zinc oxide‐based nanocomposites in the textile industry

AbstractTextile materials have been enriched in function at the composite level with continuous developments in the textile industry. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) are strongly influenced by ultraviolet (UV) filter, antifungal, high catalysis, and semiconductor/piezoelectric coupling characteristics. Therefore, the antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are zcomprehensively analysed to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. In addition, the textile preparation and application of ZnO‐NP in piezoelectric power generation is discussed. Based on relevant documents for ZnO‐textile industry applications, scanning electron microscopy analysis, biological activity analysis, and UV transmittance analysis of textiles containing composite materials prove that textiles based on ZnO‐based composite materials (ZnO‐NP materials) have antibacterial properties and UV resistance. The antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are analysed comprehensively to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. After the photocatalytic reaction, its practical application as slurry type suspensions is limited because of the difficulty of separating the catalyst particles. In terms of its piezoelectric power generation characteristics, intensity of current voltage analysis and X‐ray diffraction analysis reveal that textiles based on ZnO‐NP materials have obvious semiconductor characteristic and obvious current enhancement signals locally, indicating that the textiles can achieve better piezoelectric properties.

Elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric losses in ceramic-matrix piezocomposites PZT/α-Al2O3

An experimental study of the origin of elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric losses in ceramic-matrix piezocomposites PZT/α-Al2O3 with different volume concentrations and particle sizes of α-Al2O3 microcrystalline filler was performed. The microstructural features and concentration dependences of the imaginary and real parts of the complex elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric characteristics of composite piezoelectric elements were studied. The analysis of the obtained dependences was carried out and a physical interpretation of the obtained results was proposed.

Influence of flexoelectric effects on domain switching in ferroelectric films

Flexoelectricity has been shown to be an effective strategy to modulate the polarization configurations, domain structures, and physical properties in nanoscale ferroelectric thin films. However, the relations between the domain switching processes and flexoelectric effects remain elusive, which is essential for the design of nanoscale ferroelectric electric devices. In this work, strain-gradient and normal PbTiO3 films are fabricated and investigated to resolve this elusive relationship. By using large-scale and local piezoelectric force microscopy characterization, the ferroelectric domain switching in strain-gradient PbTiO3 films is found to be hard and hindered under applied electric fields compared with the normal ones. Successive atomic-scale scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging analysis manifests that the domains in the strain-gradient PbTiO3 films are stabilized by an additional effective strain gradient-induced flexoelectric field, which was introduced by negative pressure originated from vertically distributed Pb-rich anti-phase domains. This study proposes an effective method to stabilize the ferroelectric polarization in nanoscale ferroelectric films, thus facilitate improving the reliability of ferroelectric electronic devices.

A practical approach for standardization of converse piezoelectric constants obtained from piezoresponse force microscopy

The ability to reliably measure electromechanical properties is crucial to the advancement of materials design for applications in fields ranging from biology and medicine to energy storage and electronics. With the relentless miniaturization of device technology, the ability to perform this characterization on the nanoscale is paramount. Due to its ability to probe electromechanical properties on the micro- and nano-scales, piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has become the premier tool for piezoelectric and ferroelectric characterization of a new generation of smart, functional materials. Despite its widespread use and popularity, PFM is a highly nuanced technique, and measurements on similar samples using different machines and/or in different laboratories often fail to agree. A comprehensive protocol for accurate quantitative measurements has not been presented in the literature, slowing the general uptake of the technique by reducing the ability of research groups to take full advantage of PFM for their characterization needs. Here, we present a procedure for PFM measurements, which outlines the practical aspects of quantitative PFM, from sample preparation to probe choice and use of control samples, and we substantiate these steps with original data on lithium niobate control samples. This quantitative characterization protocol is critical as society looks to smaller, greener alternatives to traditional piezoelectric materials for applications such as drug delivery, bio-microelectromechanical system sensors and actuators, and energy harvesting.

Microstructure and bending piezoelectric characteristics of AlN film for high-frequency flexible SAW devices

Flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) device is one of hot point areas for wearable communication technology because of their ductility and bendability, but the deterioration problem of device performance after bending experiments is limiting its wide application for future wearable communication devices. In this work, the effect of sputtering power on microstructure properties and bending piezoelectric characteristics of aluminum nitride (AlN) film on polyimide (PI) with molybdenum (Mo) buffer layer for high-frequency flexible SAW device was discussed in detail from 200 W to 280 W. Microstructure results show that the high oriented (002) AlN films with narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.29° and low roughness of 3.2 nm are obtained under 240 W sputtering power. Piezoelectric and frequency results of SAW devices after cyclic bending indicate that the relative piezoelectric coefficient d*33 is about 8.01 pm/V, and the center frequency of the flexible SAW devices is as high as 4.95 GHz, especially the piezoelectric and frequency characteristics can maintain high satiability after 10,000 bending cycles. This work may be of useful for the flexible high-frequency SAW devices in the wearable communication area.

Characterization of in-House-Developed Mn-ZnO-Reinforced Polyethylene: A Sustainable Approach for Developing Fused Filament Fabrication-Based Filament

This study outlines a sustainable development of Mn-ZnO-reinforced low density polyethylene (LDPE)-based feedstock filament, using twin screw extrusion (TSE) process, for fused filament fabrication-based additive manufacturing technology. Mn-ZnO-based reinforcement, known for its functional properties, has been utilized to tune the thermo-mechanical, morphological, and piezoelectric characteristics of LPDE. Functional feedstock filaments have been manufactured by varying twin screw compounder processing parameters such as barrel temperature (120, 130, and 140 °C), screw torque (0.15, 0.20, and 0.20 N.m) and forced loading (5, 10 and 15 kg). The results of the study suggested that the better mechanical properties of feedstock filament were attained at 140 °C barrel temperature, 0.25 N.m screw torque, and 10kg forced loading in TSE. The result of the tensile properties is supported by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), piezoelectric property (D33 measurement), shape memory effect and differential scanning calorimetric analysis.

Surfactant assisted spectroscopic application of cadmium oxide nanoparticles prepared via co-precipitation method

Cadmium oxide is one of the captivating nanomaterials possess semiconductor and piezoelectric characteristics which has diverse applications. Most of the nanoparticles synthesis methods are expensive and complex and also difficulty in controlling their shapes and uniformity. The present research work focus on synthesis and characterization of pure and surfactants (SDS) assisted cadmium oxide nanoparticles through co-precipitation method. SDS was used as a stabilizer below its critical micelle concentration. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized using XRD, SEM, FTIR and photoluminescence spectroscopy. XRD pattern reveal the presence of well indexed CdO nanoparticles with cubic structure. Pure cadmium oxide nanoparticles exhibited ixora flower with needle structure and SDS assisted nanoparticles displayed rosette shaped structure. Optical properties of prepared samples were analyzed using UV and Photoluminescence spectra and the energy gap for pure and surfactants (SDS) assisted cadmium oxide nanoparticles were found to be 3.74 and 3.52 eV. FTIR spectra showed the presence of functional groups in the pure and surfactants (SDS) assisted cadmium oxide nanoparticles. Furthermore, the authors examined the influence of surfactants on size and morphology of nanoparticles.

Design, modeling, and control of a monolithic compliant x-y-θ microstage using a double-rocker mechanism

This paper reports the design, modeling, and control of a novel three-degrees-of-freedom piezoelectric compliant microstage by introducing a new double-rocker mechanism. The double-rocker mechanism combines a first (leverage) amplifier and a second (rocker) amplifier for double-stage displacement amplification and parasitic motion reduction. An analytical model is established to calculate the deformation behavior of the microstage, and the model is verified using finite-element analysis (FEA). An improved Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model is proposed to describe piezoelectric hysteresis characteristics by optimizing the threshold selection. Then, a composite control strategy is designed to achieve precision trajectory control. The control strategy consists of a hysteresis-based feedforward controller and a proportional-integral feedback controller. A prototype of the microstage is manufactured, and an experimental system is established. Several open-loop and closed-loop experiments are conducted, and the experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed microstage and the designed control strategy.

Analytical Modeling and Validation of a Preloaded Piezoceramic Current Output.

Energy harvesting using piezoceramic has drawn a lot of attention in recent years. Its potential usage in microelectromechanical systems is starting to become a reality thanks to the development of an integrated circuit. An accurate equivalent circuit of piezoceramic is important in energy harvesting and the sensing system. A piezoceramic is always considered to be a current source according to empirical testing, instead of the derivation from its piezoelectric characteristics, which lacks accuracy under complicated mechanical excitation situations. In this study, a new current output model is developed to accurately estimate its value under various kinds of stimulation. Considering the frequency, amplitude and preload variation imposed on a piezoceramic, the multivariate model parameters are obtained in relation to piezo coefficients. Using this model, the current output could be easily calculated without experimental testing in order to quickly estimate the output power in energy harvesting whatever its geometric shape and the various excitations.

Edge effect on the piezoelectric characteristics of rectangular-shaped monolayer MSe2 (M = Cr, Mo, W) nanosheets

The edge effect on the piezoelectric characteristics of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials is crucial to the design of high performance energy storage and photoelectric devices. Nevertheless, the comprehensive understanding of edge effects on the relationship between bond relaxation and piezoelectric responses of 2D materials at the atomic-level remains puzzling. Here, we explore the piezoelectric properties of monolayer MSe2 (M = Cr, Mo, W) and reveal how piezoelectric properties depend on the size and edge type based on atomic-bond-relaxation approach and continuum medium mechanics. A comprehensive analysis reveals that monolayer MSe2 exhibits anisotropic piezoelectric behaviors. Meanwhile, the piezoelectric power output is strongly dependent on the stress direction. Our study provides a way to optimize the piezoelectricity and related properties of 2D materials for practical applications.