An improved differential sensor and corresponding apparatus implementing same. The differential sensor includes a substrate, an amplifier coupled to the substrate, and a plurality of highly-matched piezoelectric capacitors formed onto the substrate. A first set of the highly-matched piezoelectric capacitors are electrically coupled to a non-inverting input of the amplifier, and a second set of the highly-matched piezoelectric capacitors are electrically coupled to an inverting input of the amplifier to form an open loop differential amplifier.

Due to strong needs to reduce the dimensions and the cost of the RF filters and to reduce the number of filters required in an mobile handsets and wireless system covering numbers of operation bands, tunable RF filters which can cover as many bands or frequency ranges as possible are needed so that the number of filters can be reduced in the mobile handsets and wireless systems. The present invention provides tunable surface acoustic wave (SAW) IDT structures with the resonant frequency of the acoustic wave to be excited and to be transmitted tuned by digital to analog converters (DACs). The DAC converts an input digital signal to an output DC voltage and provide DC bias voltages to the SAW IDTs through integrated thin film biasing resistors. The polarity and the value of the output DC voltage are controlled by the input digital signal to achieve selection and tuning of the resonant frequency of the SAW IDTs.

Provided is a surface acoustic wave device using a novel and steadily suppliable piezoelectric material that is resistant to a high-temperature environment and enables the surface acoustic wave device to use a 2 GHz to 2.5 GHz band or higher. The surface acoustic wave device includes: a piezoelectric substrate formed from a monocrystal of gehlenite (CAS: Ca2Al(AlSi)O7); and interdigital transducers formed on a surface acoustic wave propagation plane of the piezoelectric substrate.

A device for generating a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma is disclosed. In an embodiment a device includes a first piezoelectric transformer configured to ignite a non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma in a process medium and a control circuit configured to apply an input voltage to the first piezoelectric transformer and to perform a modulation of the input voltage such that the first piezoelectric transformer generates an acoustic signal as a result of the modulation.

A plasma generator is disclosed. In an embodiment a plasma generator includes a piezoelectric transformer subdivided into an input region and an output region in a longitudinal direction, wherein the piezoelectric transformer comprises an output-side end face facing away from the input region, wherein the plasma generator comprises a passive load arranged permanently in front of the output-side end face, and wherein the plasma generator is configured to generate non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma.

A hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic has an ABO.sub.3 structure with A sites and B sites. The PZT ceramic is doped with Mn and with Nb on the B sites and the ratio Nb/Mn is <2. A piezoelectric multilayer component having such a PZT ceramic and also a method for producing a piezoelectric multilayer component are also disclosed.

The present invention discloses a method for creating spin-affected electric currents passively and feeding them into electric devices. The invention can be realized as either a rectangular black box incorporating coatings on top of and on the bottom of a conducting volume of material, or by coating a round-shaped wire or thread(s) of a cable. This is obtained by using a specific coating material on the conducting piece of material. The material may be piezoelectric, such as silicon dioxide (i.e. quartz) but also silicon carbide (SiC) may be used. Also, mixtures and composite arrangements are possible in order to create a coating. The manufactured add-on unit, when supplied with the input power or input signal, will act as an electron spin feeding device to the electric device because the electrons will be moving strongly within the interface area of the coating and the conducting material with aligned spins. The resulting effect also lasts longer within the electric device than just the time when the add-on unit is connected to the electric device.

An acceleration change sensor includes a flexible member comprising extensions extending from a central portion. Piezoelectric capacitors are provided on respective extensions. A proof mass is coupled to the flexible member and offset from each extension of the plurality of extensions.

A method for frequency control of a piezoelectric transformer and a circuit arrangement including a piezoelectric transformer are disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes exciting a piezoelectric transformer on an input side with an AC voltage of predetermined frequency as input voltage, capturing a phase information for an input impedance of the piezoelectric transformer in a feedback path, evaluating the captured phase information in respect of a predetermined phase criterion, and regulating the frequency of the AC voltage on a basis of the evaluated phase information.

A piezoelectric transformer comprises at least a laminate of a first member, a first piezoelectric element, a second piezoelectric element and a second member sequentially stacked one on the other in the above-listed order and a pressurizing mechanism for squeezing the first member and the second member together in the stacking direction. The ratio of the electromechanical coupling coefficient k.sub.33 relative to the electromechanical coupling coefficient k.sub.31 (k.sub.33/k.sub.31) of the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element is not less than 2.0.