The Knowledge Center
APC International, Ltd. has been a major player in the piezo industry for more than 25 years. Since our founding in 1986, we have manufactured millions of piezoelectric ceramics and piezo devices. Members of APC International’s team of materials scientists and electrical engineers has been involved with the piezo industry for over forty years, and our production employees average over ten years on the job at APC International.
As we have made contributions to the piezo industry, we have learned that sharing our knowledge of piezoelectric ceramics and piezo devices with our customers and clients is very valuable service offering. In 2002, we released our first textbook, Piezoelectric Ceramics: Principles and Applications to provide our customers with an overview of the theory behind and the application of piezoelectric ceramics.
In addition to our textbook, we have also developed this online “Knowledge Center” to provide our customers and clients with a depository of information on piezoelectric theory and piezo applications and to allow for meaningful dialogue with and between our customers in our new piezo forum. The Knowledge Center contains an overview of the piezoelectric effect, white papers and technical updates written by our team of materials scientists and electrical engineers, answers to frequently asked questions and links to other industry resources.
We encourage you to look around this section of our website and participate in our forum. Like our customers, the applications for piezoelectric materials are extremely varied. As a result, these resources are intended to serve as a starting point for your research into piezo materials. We hope you find the information presented here to be useful. When you're ready to move forward with your project, the experts at APC International can help you harness the piezoelectric effect through manufacturing, assembly and design services.
The Basics of Piezoelectricity
The term piezoelectricity comes from the Greek word piezein, which means to press or squeeze. The phenomenon was named in 1880 by French scientists Pierre and Jacques Curie when they discovered that applying pressure to certain crystals caused them to produce an electric charge.
In a piezoelectric material, compression and tension generate voltages of opposite polarity that are proportional to the amount of force used. This phenomenon is called the piezoelectric effect. The inverse piezoelectric effect refers to the reverse property — when exposed to an electric field, a piezoelectric material contracts or expands in accordance with the polarity and strength of the field.
Though the voltage or mechanical change created by the piezoelectric effect and its inverse are often small, within a fraction of a millimeter of expansion, for example, they have had a large impact on technology since their discovery. Devices that use the principles of piezoelectricity include electric lighters, microphones, transformers, ultrasonic transducers and actuators.
Natural and Synthetic Piezoelectric Materials
Piezoelectric materials can be natural or synthetic. When the piezoelectric effect was first discovered, the only natural materials with piezoelectric properties were crystals like quartz and tourmaline. In fact, a piezo material's ability to produce a charge is directly related to its crystalline structure. When the static structure of the crystal is disturbed by as little as 10%, the atoms are disturbed, and a charge is created.
Quartz and other piezoelectric crystals are still used and appreciated for their piezoelectric properties. However, people have also developed synthetic materials, such as piezoelectric ceramic, that can provide higher performance and easier customization.
Piezoelectric ceramic material is created by exposing a ceramic that contains metal oxides to a strong direct current electric field, which permanently polarizes it. Piezoelectric ceramics are popular due to their physical strength and relatively low manufacturing cost.
The type of piezo material you choose will depend on the specific requirements of your application, though ceramics can be tailored to meet a wide range of needs. Piezoelectric ceramics find use in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, defense and consumer products.
Contact APC International to Learn More
With the ability to both generate and respond to voltages, piezoelectric materials have the potential for use in many innovative applications. At APC International, we can help you develop an appropriate piezoelectric component and deliver in as little as one week. If you would like to speak with one of our team members about your piezo project and the products and services APC International offers, please contact one of our representatives. Call (570)-726-6961 to speak to one of our representatives.