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Meeting ID: 982 3807 0773
Passcode: 481104

Piezoelectric materials are one of the unsung heroes of the information age. Quartz crystals and other piezoelectric materials have been used for nearly a century to create miniaturized oscillators that are integral to timing in essentially every modern electronics product. If you own a smart phone or laptop, you have more than a few of them in your possession. Piezoelectric materials exist in a variety of material classes including ceramics, single crystals, semi-conductors, polymers, and even in biomaterials such as bone. Novel applications include devices we have developed for the Mars Curiosity Rover, and are developing for deformable mirrors for next generation space telescopes.  

In this seminar we will introduce piezoelectricity by presenting the linear equations which are derived from thermodynamic potentials. These equations are the basis for a variety of static and quasi-static applications including micro-positioners, optical alignment, fuel injectors, ink jet printers, valves, and energy harvesters. We will then extend these equations into the dynamic regime and derive the impedance spectra of a piezoelectric resonator. We will finish with the many novel applications of resonators including ultrasonic drilling, sample handling, sample processing and precision control of optical mirror surfaces.