A bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator includes a solidly mounted reflector, for example, a Bragg-type reflector, a piezoelectric layer, and first and second electrodes on first and second surfaces, respectively, of the piezoelectric layer. A filter device or filter system includes at least one BAW resonator. Related methods of fabrication include forming the BAW resonator.

A piezoelectric laminate and a piezoelectric element, including on a substrate in the following order, a lower electrode layer, and a piezoelectric film, in which a region of the lower electrode layer, the region being in contact with the piezoelectric film, is constituted of a metal layer, where a (111) plane of the metal layer has an inclination of 1° or more with respect to a surface of the substrate, and the piezoelectric film contains a perovskite-type oxide containing Pb.

A piezoelectric element includes: a first electrode formed at a vibration plate; a seed layer formed at the first electrode; a piezoelectric film containing potassium, sodium, and niobium and formed at the seed layer; and a second electrode formed at the piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric film contains lithium and one or more first transition elements. The seed layer contains bismuth. When the piezoelectric film is divided into two equal parts in a stacking direction, the second electrode side is defined as a first region, and the first electrode side is defined as a second region, a bismuth intensity obtained by SIMS measurement at a boundary between the first region and the second region is equal to or less than 1/500 of a maximum bismuth intensity obtained by the SIMS measurement of the piezoelectric film.

The present invention provides: a piezoelectric substrate which includes a first piezoelectric body having an elongated shape and helically wound in one direction, and which does not include a core material, in which the first piezoelectric body includes a helical chiral polymer (A) having an optical activity; in which the length direction of the first piezoelectric body is substantially parallel to the main direction of orientation of the helical chiral polymer (A) included in the first piezoelectric body; and in which the first piezoelectric body has a degree of orientation F, as measured by X-ray diffraction according to the following Equation (a), within the range of 0.5 or more but less than 1.0:
degree of orientation F=(180°−α)/180°  (a)
(in which α represents the half-value width of the peak derived from the orientation).

SMA actuators and related methods are described. One embodiment of an actuator includes a base; a plurality of buckle arms; and at least a first shape memory alloy wire coupled with a pair of buckle arms of the plurality of buckle arms. Another embodiment of an actuator includes a base and at least one bimorph actuator including a shape memory alloy material. The bimorph actuator attached to the base.

A magneto-electric converter capable of converting a variation in magnetic field into a potential difference between two electrical terminals includes a support layer comprising two electrical terminals; a stack disposed on the support layer of a first layer made from a magnetostrictive material defining the reference plane and of a second layer made from a piezoelectric material having a polarization axis in the plane defined by the second layer, parallel to the reference plane; the second layer comprising electrodes; and a means for electrical connection of the electrodes to the electrical terminals.

A tunable metamaterial structure can have a flexible substrate that is elastically deformable. The tunable metamaterial structure can have a photo-responsive stiffness-modulating patch. The photo-responsive stiffness-modulating patch can be fixed to a surface of the flexible substrate. The photo-responsive stiffness-modulating patch can include a piezoelectric element and a photo-responsive element. The piezoelectric element and the photo-responsive element are electrically connected to one another.

A piezoelectric element includes a plurality of vibration regions that are separated from each other by a slit, and the slit is formed to have a tapered portion that is tapered from a first surface of the vibration regions on an opposite side to a support to a second surface opposite to the first surface. An electrode film is positioned inside than the slit when being viewed from a normal direction orthogonal to the first surface, and an angle formed by a side surface of the tapered portion in the vibration region and a surface parallel to the first surface is in a range of 39 to 81 degrees.

The acoustic fiber transducer has a piezoelectric domain with Young's modulus, E.sub.piezo, and including a non-centrosymmetric crystalline-phase piezoelectric material and inorganic piezoelectric particles. At least one charge collector domain is in electrical connection with the piezoelectric domain and includes an electrically conductive material operative to collect electrical charge generated in the piezoelectric domain. At least one electrical conductor is in electrical contact with the at least one charge collector domain and includes an electrically conductive material operative to transport electrical charge from a charge collector domain to an end of the acoustic fiber transducer as an electrical signal indicative of input acoustic sound pressure on a matrix of textile fibers that includes the acoustic fiber transducer. Outer acoustic energy transmission material has a Young's modulus E.sub.trans, of 0.3 Pa-500 MPa, for matching vibrational modes of the textile fiber matrix. A ratio of E.sub.piezo/E.sub.trans is between about 5 and about 70,000.

The present invention relates to an electrical component for a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device, in particular, but not limited to, an electromechanical actuator. In one aspect, the present invention provides an electrical component for a microelectromechanical systems device comprising: i) a substrate layer; ii) a plurality of adjacent electrical elements arranged over the substrate layer, where each electrical element is separated from a neighbouring electrical element by an intermediate region, each of the plurality of electrical elements comprising: a) a ceramic member; and b) first and second electrodes disposed adjacent the ceramic member such that a potential difference may be established between the first and second electrodes and through the ceramic member during operation; iii) a passivation layer, or a laminate of multiple passivation layers, at least partially overlying each of the plurality of electrical elements so as to provide electrical passivation between the first and second electrodes of each of the plurality of electrical elements; wherein the passivation layer, or at least an innermost layer of the laminate of passivation layers which is disposed adjacent each underlying electrical element, is discontinuous over at least one intermediate region between neighbouring electrical elements of the electrical component.