Applied Piezo: Applications

Piezoelectric materials are used in numerous applications.

The direct piezoelectric effect is used in e.g.

• generators (e.g. gas igniters)
• sensors (e.g. accelerometers, pressure sensors)
• switches (e.g. in control panels)
• ultrasonic transducers (e.g. in medical imaging)

The indirect piezoelctric effect is used in e.g.

• actuators (for micropositioning, micropumps, microvalves)
• motors (e.g. inchworm motors, SAW motors)
• speakers, buzzers (e.g. in mobile phones)
• ultrasonic transducers (e.g. sonar)

A combination of the direct and the indirect piezoelectric effect is found in

• active vibration control (e.g. active damping)
• smart structures (e.g. active shape control)
• voltage transformers
• quartz oscillators (e.g. for timing in microelectronics)