Piezoelectrics

Prem K. Kythe
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Prem K. Kythe: University of New Orleans, Department of Mathematics

Chapter 9 in Fundamental Solutions for Differential Operators and Applications, 1996, pp 207-230 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Piezoelectricity is defined as an electric polarization that is produced by mechanical strain (due to pressure) in crystals of certain class, like quartz. A closely related but totally different phenomenon is that of pyroelectricity which is a state of electric polarity produced on certain crystals by change of temperature (through heating or cooling). The prefixes ‘piezo-’ and ‘pyro-’ are derived from Greek words which mean ‘to press’ and ‘fire’ respectively. It was in 1880 when Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered that some crystals when compressed in particular directions show positive or negative charges on certain portions of their surfaces, such that the changes are proportional to the pressure and disappear when the pressure is released. The theory of piezoelectricity is based on Lord Kelvin’s thermodynamic principles. It has led to great advances in the study of crystal physics. Voigt’s monumental work (1910) is devoted to fully and rigorously formulate the piezoelectric theory. Even in spite of remarkable development of the optical theory and the general theory of elastic waves in crystals, the subject of piezoelectricity remained merely a scientific curiosity until the time of WWI when the idea of exciting quartz plates electrically developed, to serve as emitters, and later as receivers, of high-frequency (h-f) sound waves under water. This usage led to locating immersed objects and exploring ocean bottoms.

Keywords: Plane Wave; Fundamental Solution; Electric Displacement; Elastic Displacement; Piezoelectric Medium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4106-5_10

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