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Direct and inverse piezoelectric effects. Source: http://resources.edb.gov.hk/physics/articleIE/smartmaterials/SmartMaterials_e.htm
Piezo sensors
Used for quality assurance, process controll and for research and development i.e. medical, aerospace, nuclear instrumentation and tilt sensors. Piezo technology is insensitive to electromagnetic fields and radiation, which enable measurements in harsh conditions. Down-side of the Piezo sensor is that they cannot be used for truly static measurement. This happens because a static force will have continous effect to the sensor.
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An example how the Piezoelectric Element works. Adapted from source: http://global.kyocera.com/fcworld/charact/elect/piezo.html
Piezoelectric materials
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Nowadays for the Piezoelectric sensing is mostly used ceramics. The earliest one was Titanate. The three most popular piezoelectric materials are Zinc oxide, Aluminum nitride and lead-zirconite-titanium oxides what is known as PZT.
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Piezoelectric materials are usually generated from high-purity metal oxides in form of fine powder (lead oxide, titanium oxide etc.).The powder is calcinated and mixed in a right proportion. Then it is mixed with solid and/or liquid organic binders to make a so called "cake" and heated in a controlled temperature. The material is covered with contact electrodes and poled. After this the piezoelectric material is shaped to its final shape. [8.]
New materials
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- Single Crystals:
- magnesium niobate / lead titanate (PMN-PT)
- lead zirconate niobate / lead titanate (PZN-PT)
- lithium niobate (LiNbO3)
- lithium niobate with dopants
- lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7)
- quartz
- barium titanate (BaTiO3)
- Relaxors:
- lead magnesium niobate
- lead magnesium niobate / lanthanum
- lead nickel niobate [4.]
Modeling piezoelectric sensing
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As earlier we determined how piezoelectric will work and here is explanation how to determine a g-coefficent:
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