A research team from the Penn State Materials Research Institute along with research teams from various national laboratories and universities across the US have developed a piezoelectric thin film with excellent properties to be used in the MEMS devices.
These films can be used for various other applications such as ultrasound imaging, mechanical sensing, sensors, micro actuators and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Piezoelectricity has the capacity to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy or vice versa. While a major portion of MEMS devices use silicon as the substrate for semiconductor electronics, the addition of piezoelectric thin films will enable the devices to use motion or vibrations to generate electric power or use electric power to create motion.
In the earlier research programmes, multi layers of lead zirconium titanate (PZT) and silicon were used in MEMS devices. However the present research team used a lead magnesium niobate lead titanate (PMN-PT) integrated with the silicon substrate. The electric power generated from PMN-PT films was compared against micro machined actuator materials in order to display the potential of PMN-PT. The tests established that piezoelectric thin films generate twice the power of energy from PZT films. Piezoelectric thin films offer great potential to be power resources in various applications such as human-body sensors, aircrafts and bridges. Participating universities included Cornell University, University of California, University of Michigan and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Source: http://www.mri.psu.edu