Study on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO film on various metal electrodes

ZnO thin film was deposited on various metal electrodes by reactive sputtering, and c-axis preferred orientation of the film has been studied. ZnO, which has high piezoelectricity, is promising for oscillators or filter devices such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) device, gas sensor, and film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). But, for the application of ZnO film for these devices, the film should be grown with c-axis normal to the electrode. In this study, Pt, Al, and Au were deposited on Si wafer, and the surface roughness and crystal structure of the ZnO film on the electrode were investigated using AFM, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Columnar structures of ZnO films were grown with c-axis normal to all electrodes, and among them Pt electrode showed the highest preferred orientation of ZnO film.     

Multi-region Trefftz boundary element method for fracture analysis in plane piezoelectricity

This paper presents a multi-region Trefftz boundary element method for fracture analysis in plane piezoelectricity. To model the sub-region that contains the crack, a special set of Trefftz functions that satisfy the traction-free and charge-free conditions along the crack faces are constructed. To model the remaining sub-regions, the basic set of Trefftz functions co-derived previously by the authors are employed. With the two sets of Trefftz functions, the multi-region Trefftz boundary element method is formulated by point collocation. The special set of Trefftz functions exempts all the boundary treatment of the crack faces and enables the direct determination of the electromechanical intensity factors. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the formulation.     

High temperature piezoelectric materials: Defect chemistry and electro-mechanical properties

Langasite (La₃Ga₅SiO₁₄, LGS) and gallium orthophosphate (GaPO₄) resonators exhibit piezoelectrically exited bulk acoustic waves at temperatures of up to at least 1400^∘C and 900^∘C, respectively. Their mass sensitivity at elevated temperatures has been found to be about as high as that of quartz at room temperature. Within its operation temperature range, GaPO₄ shows significantly lower losses than LGS. Factors restricting application relevant properties of LGS at elevated temperatures, such as the mass resolution, include excessive viscous damping. Therefore, the effective viscosity is determined as a function of the temperature by fitting the calculated complex impedance to the experimental data in the vicinity of the resonance frequency. The viscosity shows an Arrhenius-like behavior if a temperature independent contribution is subtracted. The activation energies of the viscosity for LGS and GaPO₄ correspond to those of the bulk electrical conductivity for each material. Viscosity and conductivity are obviously correlated. Therefore, it is highly likely that the predominant conductivity mechanism also controls the mechanical damping. First attempts to minimize the viscosity of LGS by doping are undertaken. Very light doping does, however, not change the conductivity and viscosity of LGS. Higher doping levels have to be applied and tested. Based on the electromechanical properties given for undoped LGS, the applicability of this material as resonant gas sensor at 600^∘C is demonstrated.     

采用神经网络补偿压电陀螺的零位温漂

针对中低精度的压电陀螺静态零位输出随温度漂移严重的问题，分析了产生的原因，做了相应的实验，提出了用BP神经网络进行补偿的方法。该方法具有很强的非线性映射能力，减少压电陀螺的零位输出误差，并且将实验结果与传统的方法的结果进行比较，实验证明，在不改变陀螺结构的情况下，该方法能有效地将陀螺的静态零位温漂误差减小一个数量级以上，从而使该类型陀螺能够应用于中高精度系统中。     

A modified Rietveld method to model highly anisotropic ceramics

High energy X-ray diffraction was employed to probe the complex constitutive behavior of a polycrystalline ferroelectric material in various sample orientations. Pb(Zn,Nb)O₃-Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZN-PZT) ceramics were subjected to a cyclic bipolar electric field while diffraction patterns were taken. Using transmission geometry and a two-dimensional detector, lattice strain and texture evolution (domain switching) were measured in multiple sample directions simultaneously. In addition, texture analysis suggests that non-180° domain switching is coupled with lattice strain evolution during uniaxial electrical loading. As a result of this material’s high strain anisotropy, the full-pattern Rietveld method was inadequate to analyze the diffraction data. Instead, a modified Rietveld method, which includes an elastic anisotropy term, yielded significant improvements in the data analysis results.     

Giant strain response and structure evolution in (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.945−x(Bi0.2Sr0.7□0.1)xBa0.055TiO3 ceramics

The microstructure, electric-field-induced strain, polarization, and dielectric permittivity in (Bi_0.5Na_0.5)_0.945−x(Bi_0.2Sr_0.7□_0.1)_xBa_0.055TiO₃ (BNBT–xBST) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) electroceramics are investigated. An irreversible transition from rhombohedral and monoclinic coexistence phase to single rhombohedral phase is indicated with the remnant strain S_r = 0.330% at x = 0. As the BST content increases, the ferroelectric order is disrupted resulting in a degradation of the remnant polarization, coercive field, and the ferroelectric-to-relaxor transition temperature (T_F–R). The coexistence of ferroelectric relaxor and ferroelectric phase is observed for the optimum composition x = 0.02 at ambient temperature with a large strain of 0.428% at 60 kV/cm (normalized strain S_max/E_max = 713 pm/V). The large strain is contributed by both ferroelectric domain reorientation behavior and the reversible relaxor to ferroelectric phase transition.     

Design,fabrication of honeycomb-shaped 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric micropillar arrays for 2D ultrasound transducer application

As a core component of 2D ultrasound transducers, honeycomb-shaped 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric micropillar arrays have attracted enormous attention due to their unique performance and functionality. In this paper, honeycomb-shaped 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric micropillar arrays with a high aspect-ratio were designed and fabricated by means of deep X-ray lithography and powder injection molding in six steps: preparation of lost mold, powder-binder mixing, injection molding and demolding, removal of binders, and densification of powder. A polymer-based lost mold insert was generated by a synchrotron X-ray exposure and development process. The optimal volumetric ratio between the piezoelectric powder and binders was determined by torque rheology behavior, then they were homogeneously mixed with a twin extruder mixer. To fully fill in the micro-cavities of the lost mold, rheological properties of the mixture were analyzed with a capillary rheometer using different shear rates (50–5000 s⁻¹) and temperatures (140 °C, 150 °C, and 160 °C). After the mixture was completely injected, the lost mold was chemically dissolved in acetone and rinsed in methanol without bending or clustering of the micropillar arrays during evaporation. The binders in the injection molded portion were thermally decomposed using a continuous heating schedule of 200 °C, 390 °C, and 600 °C in argon gas under atmospheric conditions. Finally, the particles in the sample were densified into a coherent, solid mass by eliminating pores at 1300 °C. Based on the proposed micro-manufacturing process, defect-free honeycomb-shaped 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric micropillar arrays with a pattern dimension of 42 μm and aspect-ratio of 5 were successfully produced.     

基于模式识别的压电精密驱动与控制系统

提出了基于图像识别技术的精密驱动与控制系统,以及将驱动系统分为步进电机丝杠的宏驱动系统和压电驱动器的精密驱动系统,并将两者有机地结合成完整宏/微的驱动系统。并且提出了基于计算机视觉技术与串口通信技术相结合的控制系统。这个精密驱动与控制系统的微操作平台连接上不同的机械执行机构就可以用于不同的精密加工和制造系统中。     

Influence of sintering temperature on piezoelectric properties of (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-LiNbO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (1 − x)(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-xLiNbO₃ have been synthesized by traditional ceramics process without cold-isostatic pressing. The effect of the content of LiNbO₃ and the sintering temperature on the phase structure, the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of (1 − x)(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-xLiNbO₃ ceramics were investigated. The result shows that the phase structure transforms from the orthorhombic phase to tetragonal phase with the increase of the content of LiNbO₃, and the orthorhombic and tetragonal phase co-exist in (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-LiNbO₃ ceramics when the content of LiNbO₃ is about 0.06 mol. The sintering temperature of (1 − x)(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-xLiNbO₃ decreases with the increase of the content of LiNbO₃. The optimum composition for (1 − x)(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-xLiNbO₃ ceramics is 0.94(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.06LiNbO₃. The optimum sintering temperature of 0.94(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.06LiNbO₃ ceramics is 1080 °C. Piezoelectric properties of 0.94 (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.06LiNbO₃ ceramics under the optimum sintering temperature are piezoelectric constant d₃₃ of 215 pC/N, planar electromechanical coupling factor k_p of 0.41, thickness electromechanical coupling factor k_t of 0.48, the mechanical quality factor Q_m of 80, the dielectric constant of 530 and the Curie temperature T_c = 450 °C, respectively. The results indicate that 0.94(K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.06LiNbO₃ piezoelectric ceramics is a promising candidate for lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.