Abstract: A vibration actuator unit includes: an electromechanical converting element that converts an electric vibration of an applied actuating voltage into a mechanical vibration; and a contact portion that contacts an actuated surface of an actuating subject and a transmits a mechanical vibration of the electromechanical converting element to the actuated surface as an actuating force, wherein the electromechanical converting element periodically bends within a first vibration plane crossing the actuated surface to vibrate the contact portion within the first vibration plane, and periodically bends within a second vibration plane crossing the first vibration plane to vibrate the contact portion within the second vibration plane.

Abstract: A method and device to produce a potential between two electrodes immersed in an ion containing fluid on application of an external stimuli that produces a temporal shear flow of the fluid at the fluid/electrode interface. The external stimuli may be, for example, contact pressure, motion, vibration, electric and/or magnetic field, fluid flow, or a combination of more than one stimuli. The potential produced may be harvested for energy, or sensing the external stimuli. A method to provide family of energy generators to harvest energy from ambient energy sources, such as, motion, fluid flow, contact pressure, and vibrations. A method to provide self-powered sensors where the potential generated may be, for example, directly transmitted to a receiver for signal processing by wireless or wired communication. A energy generator and/or sensor is a also provided.

Abstract: A method of making an acoustic wave sensor includes the steps of providing a piezoelectric substrate layer and printing on the substrate layer a sensor layer comprising a first interdigitated acoustic wave transducer, a sensing film, and positioned on an opposing side of the sensing film from the first interdigitated acoustic wave transducer at least one selected from the group consisting of a second interdigitated acoustic wave transducer and a Bragg reflector. An insulation layer can be printed. An antenna can be printed in an antenna layer, and the insulation layer can be interposed between the antenna layer and the sensor layer. An electrical connection can be printed between the antenna and the first interdigitated acoustic wave transducer. An acoustic wave sensor is also disclosed.

Abstract: A barium titanate piezoelectric ceramic having good piezoelectric properties and mechanical strength and a piezoelectric element that includes the ceramic are provided. A method for making a piezoelectric ceramic includes forming a compact composed of an oxide powder containing barium titanate particles, sintering the compact, and decreasing the temperature of the compact after the sintering. The sintering includes (A) increasing the temperature of the compact to a first temperature within a temperature range of a shrinking process of the compact; (B) increasing the temperature of the compact to a second temperature within a temperature range of a liquid phase sintering process of the compact after (A); (C) decreasing the temperature of the compact to a third temperature within the temperature range of the shrinking process of the compact after (B); and (D) retaining the third temperature after (C).

Abstract: An assembly including an electrical connection substrate formed of material having a Young's modulus of less than about 10 MPa, an acoustic device die having opposite end portions mounted on and electrically connected to the electrical connection substrate and a mold compound layer encapsulating the acoustic device die and interfacing with the substrate.

Abstract: A vibration device that includes a vibration portion, a support portion connected to the vibration portion, a bending-vibrating portion connected to the support portion, and a frame-shaped base portion connected to the bending-vibration portion and disposed so as to surround the vibration portion. The base portion defines a slit that extends in a first direction crossing a second direction in which the support portion extends from the vibration portion, the slit defining first and second fixed ends of the bending-vibrating portion and which are continuous with the base portion. A length between a portion of the bending-vibrating portion connected to the support portion to one of the first and second fixed ends of the bending-vibrating portion is in a range of ?/8 to 3?/8, where ? denotes a wavelength of a bending vibration corresponding to a frequency of a characteristic vibration of the vibration portion.

Abstract: A crystal unit includes an AT-cut crystal element, excitation electrodes, extraction electrodes. The AT-cut crystal element has an approximately rectangular planar shape. The excitation electrodes are disposed on front and back of principal surfaces of the AT-cut crystal element. The extraction electrodes are extended from the excitation electrodes to a side of one side of the AT-cut crystal element via a side surface of the AT-cut crystal element. Assuming that an extraction angle of the extraction electrode from the principal surface to the side surface is defined as an angle ? with respect to an X-axis of a crystallographic axis of a crystal, the angle ? is equal to or greater than 59 degrees and equal to or less than 87 degrees.

Abstract: A piezoelectric element includes a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer which is formed on the first electrode by using a solution method, and is formed from compound oxide which has a perovskite structure in which potassium, sodium, and niobium are provided, and a second electrode which is provided on the piezoelectric layer. The piezoelectric layer has a peak derived from a (200) plane and a peak derived from a (002) plane in an X-ray diffraction pattern obtained by ?-2? measurement.

Abstract: An acoustic wave device is an end surface reflection-type acoustic wave device and includes a substantially rectangular-parallelepiped composite substrate in which a piezoelectric substrate and a supporting substrate are joined together, with a pair of IDT electrodes provided on the substrate in such a manner as to be intercalated with each other. A chipping size in a first side face of the substrate is 1/10 of a wavelength ? of an acoustic wave or smaller, the face extending orthogonally to a direction of acoustic-wave propagation. A chipping size in a second side face of the substrate is larger than the chipping size in the face and is, for example, ½ of the wavelength ? or larger and 50 times the wavelength ? or smaller, the face extending in the direction of acoustic-wave propagation.

Abstract: Textured PMN-PZT fabricated by templated grain growth (TGG) method has a piezoelectric coefficient (d) of 3 to 5 times that of its random counterpart. By combining this TGG method with low-temperature co-firing ceramics (LTCC) techniques, co-fired multilayer textured piezoelectric ceramic materials with inner electrodes were produced at a temperature as low as 925° C., which silver could be used. Trilayer PMN-PZT ceramics prepared by this method show a strain increase of 2.5 times, a driving voltage decrease of 3 times, and an equivalent piezoelectric coefficient (d*) improvement of 10 to 15 times that of conventional random ceramic counterparts. Further, a co-fired magnetostrictive/piezoelectric/magnetostrictive laminate structure with silver inner electrode was also synthesized. The integration of textured piezoelectric microstructure with the cost-effective low-temperature co-fired layered structure achieves strong magnetoelectric coupling.

Abstract: A piezoelectric device and a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric device are provided. The piezoelectric device includes first and second electrodes disposed on a first surface of a piezoelectric layer; third and fourth electrodes disposed on a second surface of the piezoelectric layer, a first conductor electrically connecting the first and fourth electrodes, and a second conductor electrically connecting the second and third electrodes, in a cross-link with the first conductor.

Abstract: A piezoelectric resonator unit that includes a piezoelectric resonator, a substrate including a protruding portion, and a cap joined to the protruding portion. The piezoelectric resonator unit has a first relation of (W1+T1)?w1<(W1+2T1), where, in a long-side sectional view, w1 is a width of an inside of an opening in the cap, T1 is a width of the protruding portion, and W1 is a width of the upper surface of the substrate between parts of the protruding portion; and has a second relation of (W2+T2)?w2<(W2+2T2), where, in a short-side sectional view, w2 is a width of the inside of the opening in the cap, T2 is a width of the protruding portion, and W2 is a width of the upper surface of the substrate between parts of the protruding portion.

Abstract: A quartz crystal resonator unit has an overall length less than 2.1 mm and a base portion having a length less than 0.5 mm and a width less than 0.55 mm, vibrational arms, and mounting arms connected to the base portion through connecting portions. Each vibrational arm has a first vibrational portion including a first width and a first length within a range of 0.32 mm to 0.72 mm and a second vibrational portion including a second width greater than the first width and a second length less than the first length. A groove is formed in at least one main surface of the first vibrational portions of the vibrational arms, a width of the groove being less than 0.07 mm and a distance in the width direction of the groove being less than 0.015 mm. A width of the mounting arms is less than 0.45 mm and a width of the connecting portion is less than 0.41 mm.

Abstract: An electroconductive film for an actuator is formed from a gel composition including carbon nanofibers, an ionic liquid, and a polymer. The carbon nanofibers are produced with an aromatic mesophase pitch by melt spinning.

Abstract: An SAW device (1) has a piezoelectric substrate (3) propagating acoustic waves, and a comb-shaped electrode (6) arranged on a first surface (3a) of the piezoelectric substrate (3). The SAW device (1) has a columnar terminal (15) located on the first surface (3a) and electrically connected to the comb-shaped electrode (6), and a cover member (9) covering the a side surface of the terminal (15). The terminal (15) comprises, in a first region in the height direction of height thereof, a larger diameter on the side of the first surface (3a) compared with the diameter on the side opposite to the first surface (3a).

Abstract: A piezoelectric/electrostrictive material is composed of Mn and a compound of Pb(Zn, Nb)O3—Pb(Ni, Nb)O3—Pb(Zr, Ti)O3. A ratio of a molar amount of Mn relative to a sum of respective molar amounts of Ni, Zn, Ti, Zr, Nb and Mn is at least 0.001 to no more than 0.015. A ratio of a molar amount of Nb relative to a sum of respective molar amounts of Ni and Zn is at least 2.007 to no more than 2.125.

Abstract: A method for producing an electric component (19) is specified, wherein in a step A) a body (1) having at least one cavity (7, 8) is provided. In a step B), the cavity (7, 8) is at least partly filled with a liquid insulation material (13) by means of capillary forces. Furthermore, an electric component (19) is specified wherein a cavity (7, 8) is at least partly filled with an insulation material (13). The insulation material (13) is introduced into the cavity (7, 8) by means of capillary forces. Furthermore, an electric component (19) is specified wherein a cavity (7, 8) is at least partly filled with an organic insulation material (13) and wherein the cavity is at least partly covered by a fired external contacting (17, 18).

Abstract: Embodiments of a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) device having a guided SAW structure that provides spurious mode suppression and methods of fabrication thereof are disclosed. In some embodiments, a SAW device includes a non-semiconductor support substrate, a piezoelectric layer on a surface of the non-semiconductor support substrate, and at least one interdigitated transducer on a surface of the piezoelectric layer opposite the non-semiconductor support substrate. A thickness of the piezoelectric layer, a SAW velocity of the piezoelectric layer, and an acoustic velocity of the non-semiconductor support substrate are such that a frequency of spurious modes above a resonance frequency of the SAW device is above a bulk wave cut-off frequency of the SAW device. In this manner, the spurious modes above the resonance frequency of the SAW device are suppressed.

Abstract: An IC for heating includes a semiconductor, substrate on which a diffusion layer is formed; a first pad that applies a power source voltage to the diffusion layer; and a second pad that applies a ground voltage to the diffusion layer. A semiconductor substrate includes slits such that the slits intersect a virtual straight line connecting the pads when the semiconductor substrate is seen in a plan view.

Abstract: An elastic wave device includes elastic wave elements, each including a piezoelectric layer directly or indirectly supported by a supporting substrate and an electrode disposed in contact with the piezoelectric layer, and a highly heat-conductive member stacked on a surface of the supporting substrate, opposite to the surface supporting the piezoelectric layer, in which the thermal conductivity of the supporting substrate is higher than the thermal conductivity of the piezoelectric layer, the coefficient of linear expansion of the supporting substrate is lower than the coefficient of linear expansion of the piezoelectric layer, the highly heat-conductive member has a larger area than the surface of the supporting substrate supporting the piezoelectric layer, and the thermal conductivity of the highly heat-conductive member is higher than that of the piezoelectric layer.