There is provided a ferroelectric thin-film laminated substrate, including a substrate, and further including a lower electrode layer, a ferroelectric thin-film layer, an upper electrode adhesive layer, and an upper electrode layer being sequentially stacked on the substrate, in which: the lower electrode layer is made of platinum or a platinum alloy; the ferroelectric thin-film layer is made of a sodium potassium niobate (typical chemical formula of (K.sub.1-xNa.sub.x)NbO.sub.3, 0.4?x?0.7); the upper electrode layer is made of gold; the upper electrode adhesive layer is made of a metal that has less oxidizability than titanium and can make a solid solution alloy without generating an intermetallic compound with gold; and a part of the upper electrode adhesive layer and a part of the upper electrode layer are alloyed.

A MEMS piezoelectric device includes a monolithic semiconductor body having first and second main surfaces extending parallel to a horizontal plane formed by first and second horizontal axes. A housing cavity is arranged within the monolithic semiconductor body. A membrane is suspended above the housing cavity at the first main surface. A piezoelectric material layer is arranged above a first surface of the membrane with a proof mass coupled to a second surface, opposite to the first surface, along the vertical axis. An electrode arrangement is provided in contact with the piezoelectric material layer. The proof mass causes deformation of the piezoelectric material layer in response to environmental mechanical vibrations. The proof mass is coupled to the membrane by a connection element arranged, in a central position, between the membrane and the proof mass in the direction of the vertical axis.

A piezoelectric actuator includes: a plurality of discrete electrodes, which is disposed on one side of a piezoelectric element; a common electrode, which is disposed on the other side of the piezoelectric element; a plurality of discrete contacts, which are respectively connected to the plurality of discrete electrodes, and wherein the plurality of discrete electrodes includes; a first discrete electrode; and a second discrete electrode, which is disposed at a position away from a corresponding discrete contact as compared with the first discrete electrode, wherein the common electrode includes: a first common electrode, which faces the first discrete electrode in the thickness direction; and a second common electrode, which is separated from the first common electrode in the surface direction and faces the second discrete electrode in the thickness direction, and wherein a connection wiring is provided to connect the first common electrode with the second common electrode.

This technology provides an electronic device. An electronic device in accordance with an implementation of this document may include a semiconductor memory for storing data, and the semiconductor memory may include a substrate; an interlayer dielectric layer over the substrate and patterned to include a contact hole; a lower contact structure formed over the substrate in the contact hole; and a variable resistance element formed over and electrically coupled to the lower contact structure, wherein the lower contact structure may include: a spacer formed on sidewalls of the contact hole in the interlayer dielectric layer and having a substantially uniform thickness along a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate; a contact plug filling a portion of the contact hole; and a contact pad formed over the contact plug and filling a remaining portion of the contact hole.

A method of manufacture for an acoustic resonator device. The method can include forming a topside metal electrode overlying a piezoelectric substrate with a piezoelectric layer and a seed substrate. A topside micro-trench can be formed within the piezoelectric layer and a topside metal can be formed overlying the topside micro-trench. This topside metal can include a topside metal plug formed within the topside micro-trench. A first backside trench can be formed underlying the topside metal electrode, and a second backside trench can be formed underlying the topside micro-trench. A backside metal electrode can be formed within the first backside trench, while a backside metal plug can be formed within the second backside trench and electrically coupled to the topside metal plug and the backside metal electrode. The topside micro-trench, the topside metal plug, the second backside trench, and the backside metal plug form a micro-via.

Micromachined ultrasonic transducers integrated with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrates are described, as well as methods of fabricating such devices. Fabrication may involve two separate wafer bonding steps. Wafer bonding may be used to fabricate sealed cavities in a substrate. Wafer bonding may also be used to bond the substrate to another substrate, such as a CMOS wafer. At least the second wafer bonding may be performed at a low temperature.

A lower electrode and an adhesive layer made of an insulator are formed on a back surface on the ion implantation layer side of a piezoelectric single crystal substrate. A supporting substrate in which sacrificial layers made of a conductive material have been formed is bonded to the surface of the adhesive layer. By heating the composite body including the piezoelectric single crystal substrate, the lower electrode, the adhesive layer, and the supporting substrate, a layer of the piezoelectric single crystal substrate is detached to form a piezoelectric thin film. A liquid polarizing upper electrode is formed on a detaching interface of the piezoelectric thin film. A pulsed electric field is applied using the polarizing upper electrode and the sacrificial layers as counter electrodes. Consequently, the piezoelectric thin film is polarized.

Provided is a method of manufacturing an ultrasound probe. The method includes: preparing a backing layer having first and second surfaces with different heights due to forming a groove in the backing layer, wherein first and second electrodes are exposed on the first and second surfaces, respectively; forming a third electrode that is in contact with the first electrode; forming a base piezoelectric unit on the third electrode, the base piezoelectric unit including a piezoelectric layer; forming a piezoelectric unit by removing an upper region of the base piezoelectric unit; and forming a fourth electrode on the backing layer and the piezoelectric unit.

Micromachined ultrasonic transducers integrated with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) substrates are described, as well as methods of fabricating such devices. Fabrication may involve two separate wafer bonding steps. Wafer bonding may be used to fabricate sealed cavities in a substrate. Wafer bonding may also be used to bond the substrate to another substrate, such as a CMOS wafer. At least the second wafer bonding may be performed at a low temperature.

Embodiments of the invention include piezoelectrically driven switches that are used for modifying a background color or light source color in display systems, and methods of forming such devices. In an embodiment, a piezoelectrically actuated switch for modulating a background color in a display may include a photonic crystal that has a plurality of blinds oriented substantially perpendicular to a surface of the display. In an embodiment, the blinds include a black surface and a white surface. The switch may also include an anchor spaced away from an edge of the photonic crystal and a piezoelectric actuator formed on the surface of the anchor and a surface of the photonic crystal. Some embodiments may include a photonic crystal that is a multi-layer polymeric structure or a polymer chain with a plurality of nanoparticles spaced at regular intervals on the polymer chain.