Piezoelectric and Piezoelectret Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems

Microfabrication technologies have been utilized for the construction of functional microstructures with large volume and low cost, which have led to investigations on the design, packaging, and integration of piezoelectric and piezoelectret materials for various applications in sensors, actuators, and microsystems. For piezoelectric materials, we have been working on piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs) based on AlN, Lithium Niobate, and KNN((K,Na)NbO) films. For piezoelectret materials, we have made wearable actuators and sensors to generate force as high as 20 mN and to detect ultralight matters such as dandelion seed, respectively. An ultra-robust and fast moving piezoelectric robot like those of cockroaches will also be discussed.