Molly Ayala
Piezoelectric crystals are used in a wide variety of common consumer, commercial, and industrial products. They are used in watches, ultrasound equipment, microphones, cigarette lighters, inkjet printers, speakers, and a wide variety of sensors and motors, among many other applications. The first piezoelectric material used in electronic devices was the quartz crystal. Other naturally occurring piezoelectric materials include cane sugar, Rochelle salt, topaz, tourmaline, and even bone. Synthetic piezoelectric materials, such as langasite, lithium niobate, and barium titanate, are typically more cost-effective than naturally occurring crystals. Piezoelectric crystals are perfect for applications that require precise accuracy, such as the movement of a motor.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What is piezoelectricity? | The electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials in response to applied mechanical stress |
| What does the term mean? | The term “piezoelectricity” has its roots in the Greek words for “press” and “amber”. |
| How does it work? | By squeezing the crystal, you produce a voltage across its opposite faces |
| What are piezoelectric crystals made from? | Traditional piezoelectric ceramics are made from perovskite ceramic crystals, consisting of a small, tetravalent metal ion, usually titanium or zirconium, in a lattice of larger, divalent metal ions, usually lead or barium, and O2- ions |
| What are some examples of piezoelectric crystals? | The first piezoelectric material used in electronic devices is the quartz crystal. Other naturally occurring piezoelectric materials include cane sugar, Rochelle salt, topaz, tourmaline, and even bone |
| What are some applications of piezoelectric crystals? | Piezoelectric crystals are perfect for applications that require precise accuracy, such as the movement of a motor. They are also used in microphones, speakers, and quartz watches |
| What are some historical facts about piezoelectricity? | The first demonstration of the direct piezoelectric effect was in 1880 by the brothers Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie |
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What You'll Learn
The piezoelectric effect
The first practical application of piezoelectric devices was in sonar during World War I. Paul Langevin and his team in France developed an ultrasonic submarine detector that utilised thin quartz crystals glued between two steel plates. By emitting a high-frequency pulse and measuring the time it takes for the echo to return, the distance to an object can be calculated. Piezoelectricity has also found its way into many everyday items, such as quartz watches, where it helps keep regular time, and microphones, where it converts sound energy into electrical signals.
Piezoelectric crystals are also used in pressure sensors and non-destructive testing. For example, when you click the button on a gas lighter, an internal piezoelectric crystal is stressed, producing a high-voltage pulse that creates a spark to light the gas. Additionally, piezoelectric transducers can produce very loud sounds and are used in smoke detectors, alarms, and police sirens. In medical applications, small piezoelectric devices can treat mosquito bites and stings by applying a small electrical shock to the skin, inactivating the histamine response and reducing itching and swelling.
The composition, shape, and dimensions of piezoelectric ceramics can be tailored for specific purposes. PZT, or lead zirconate titanate, is a commonly used piezoelectric ceramic that can produce more voltage than quartz under the same mechanical pressure. Barium titanate, discovered during World War II, is another piezoelectric ceramic known for its durability. These man-made piezoelectric materials have enabled designers to employ the piezoelectric effect in a wide range of applications.
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$107.63 $129
Natural vs synthetic crystals
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials, such as crystals, ceramics, and biological matter, in response to applied mechanical stress. The first demonstration of the direct piezoelectric effect was in 1880 by the brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie. They demonstrated the effect using crystals of tourmaline, quartz, topaz, cane sugar, and Rochelle salt.
In 1910, Woldemar Voigt's Lehrbuch der Kristallphysik (Textbook on Crystal Physics) described the 20 natural crystal classes capable of piezoelectricity. These include quartz, tourmaline, and topaz. Natural piezoelectric crystals have been used in various applications, such as quartz clocks and watches, sonar, and medical equipment.
Synthetic piezoelectric materials, such as langasite, lithium niobate, barium titanate, and lead zirconate titanate (PZT), are typically more cost-effective than their natural counterparts. Synthetic materials also offer advantages in terms of physical strength, chemical inertness, and ease of fabrication into various shapes and sizes. During World War II, researchers in the US, USSR, and Japan discovered a new class of synthetic materials called ferroelectrics, which exhibited piezoelectric constants much higher than natural materials.
The composition, shape, and dimensions of a piezoelectric ceramic can be tailored to meet specific requirements. For example, piezoelectric ceramics made from lead zirconate or lead titanate exhibit greater sensitivity and higher operating temperatures than ceramics of other compositions. The preparation of a piezoelectric ceramic involves mixing fine PZT powders of metal oxides, heating them to form a uniform powder, mixing with a binder, shaping, and firing according to specific programs.
In summary, natural piezoelectric crystals were the first to be discovered and have been used in various applications. However, synthetic piezoelectric materials offer advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, physical properties, and customizability, leading to their widespread use in many applications.
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Applications and uses
Piezoelectric crystals have a wide variety of applications and uses. The first practical application for piezoelectric devices was in sonar during World War I. Since then, they have been used in many fields, including quartz watches, voice recognition software, record players, pressure sensors, and nondestructive testing.
Piezoelectric crystals are also used in ultrasound equipment, where a piezoelectric transducer converts electrical energy into mechanical vibrations that are too high-pitched for humans to hear. They are used in the production and detection of sound, inkjet printing, and the generation of high-voltage electricity.
Another common application is in electric cigarette lighters. Pressing a button causes a spring-loaded hammer to hit a piezoelectric crystal, producing a high-voltage electric current that flows across a spark gap, heating and igniting the gas.
Piezoelectric crystals are also used in cameras, cellular phones, and knitting machinery due to their small size and simple design. They can be used as an auto-focusing mechanism and for camera sensor displacement to enable an anti-shake function.
Additionally, piezoelectric crystals can be used in energy harvesting applications, such as charging mobile devices using energy that would otherwise be wasted. For example, a cellphone could charge itself automatically when jiggled around in a pocket.
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History
The history of piezoelectric crystals dates back to the mid-18th century when Carl Linnaeus and Franz Aepinus studied the pyroelectric effect, where materials generate an electric potential in response to temperature changes. Building on this knowledge, René Just Haüy and Antoine César Becquerel proposed a link between mechanical stress and electric charge, but their experiments were inconclusive.
In 1880, the French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie, who were brothers, discovered the piezoelectric effect. They combined their knowledge of pyroelectricity with their understanding of crystal structures and demonstrated the effect using crystals of tourmaline, quartz, topaz, cane sugar, and Rochelle salt. The German term "Piezoelektrizität" was coined in 1881 by the German physicist Wilhelm Gottlieb Hankel, and the English word was derived from the German term two years later.
The Curies did not initially predict the inverse piezoelectric effect, but Gabriel Lippmann mathematically deduced it from fundamental thermodynamic principles in 1881. The Curies then confirmed the existence of the inverse effect and provided quantitative proof of the complete reversibility of electro-elasto-mechanical deformations in piezoelectric crystals. Piezoelectricity remained a laboratory curiosity for a few decades, although it played a crucial role in Pierre and Marie Curie's discovery of polonium and radium in 1898.
In 1910, Woldemar Voigt published "Lehrbuch der Kristallphysik" (Textbook on Crystal Physics), which described the 20 natural crystal classes capable of piezoelectricity and rigorously defined the piezoelectric constants using tensor analysis. During World War I, piezoelectricity found its first practical application in sonar technology, with Paul Langevin and his team in France developing an ultrasonic submarine detector. This device used thin quartz crystals glued between two steel plates to emit and detect high-frequency pulses, allowing for the calculation of distances to objects.
In the following decades, the development of man-made piezoelectric materials, such as PZT from lead zirconate titanate, aimed to rival the performance of natural quartz crystals. These synthetic materials offered advantages such as higher voltage output and improved durability. Piezoelectric technology has since found its way into numerous applications, including quartz watches, microphones, speakers, and various sensors.
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How they work
The term "piezoelectricity" comes from the Greek words "piezein", meaning to press or squeeze, and "elektron", which means amber and has historically been used as a source of electricity. In 1880, French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity, an unusual characteristic exhibited by certain crystalline minerals: when subjected to mechanical force, the crystals became electrically polarized.
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials, such as crystals, ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins, in response to applied mechanical stress. The piezoelectric effect results from the linear electromechanical interaction between the mechanical and electrical states in crystalline materials with no inversion symmetry.
The piezoelectric effect is a reversible process: materials exhibiting the piezoelectric effect also exhibit the reverse piezoelectric effect, the internal generation of a mechanical strain resulting from an applied electric field. For example, lead zirconate titanate crystals will generate measurable piezoelectricity when their static structure is deformed by about 0.1% of the original dimension.
One of the most visible applications of piezoelectricity is the piezoelectric lighter. When you push the button, it makes a small, spring-powered hammer rise and strike the crystal, creating a large voltage across the crystal, which flows into two wires. This voltage is high enough to make a spark between the wires, igniting the gas.
Piezoelectric crystals are used in quartz clocks and timers. A crystal of quartz will vibrate at a certain rate, depending on its size. As the crystal vibrates back and forth, it generates electrical pulses. A quartz clock uses a small crystal cut to a precise size to keep time. A circuit called an oscillator keeps the quartz crystal vibrating by adding electricity to its pulses. The clock counts the number of pulses the quartz crystal makes and uses that as a basis for measuring seconds, minutes, and hours.
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Frequently asked questions
Piezoelectric crystals are solid materials that can generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical pressure.
Piezoelectric crystals can be natural or synthetic. Natural crystals include quartz, topaz, tourmaline, and cane sugar. Synthetic crystals include langasite, lithium niobate, and barium titanate.
Piezoelectric crystals have an asymmetric atomic structure with a balanced charge. When mechanical pressure is applied, the structure is deformed, separating the negative and positive charges to opposite sides of the crystal. This creates a voltage that can be used to generate an electric current.
Piezoelectric crystals are used in a wide range of applications, including watches, ultrasound equipment, microphones, sensors, motors, and energy harvesting devices.
Piezoelectricity was discovered in 1880 by French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie.
