An electroactive polymer transducer including a dielectric elastomer material having a first configuration with a first spring constant and a second configuration with a second spring constant and where the second spring constant is lower than the first spring constant.

An electroactive device may include (1) an electroactive polymer element having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface, (2) a primary electrode abutting the first surface, and (3) a secondary electrode abutting the second surface. The electroactive polymer element may be transformed from an initial state to a deformed state and may achieve substantially uniform strain by the application of an electrostatic field produced by a potential difference between the electrodes. Various other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

A transducer that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy, the transducer includes: a dielectric layer; a first electrode that is provided on one surface of the dielectric layer; and a second electrode that is provided on another surface of the dielectric layer. At least one of the first electrode and the second electrode becomes an insulator, before the dielectric layer suffers insulation breakdown by voltage that is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode.

A magnetic piezoelectric composite adjusts magnetic anisotropy strength in a bimetallic member and includes: a piezoelectric layer to produce a strain in response to receipt of a strain voltage; and the bimetallic member disposed on the piezoelectric layer, the bimetallic member including: a plurality of metal layers, such that a second metal layer is interposed between a pair of first metal layers, the bimetallic member being ferromagnetic; and a magnetic anisotropy strength that changes in response to receipt of the strain from the piezoelectric layer.

Disclosed herein is a buckling actuator, comprising: a first electrode; a second electrode; and a film of a dielectric elastomeric material having a first surface and a second surface sandwiched between the first and second electrodes, wherein the material is formed by the random block copolymerisation of a polymeric material comprising silicon or nitrogen atoms that has two or more acrylate or vinyl end groups, and a polar polymeric material having two or more acrylate or vinyl end groups. Also disclosed herein is a method of forming said dielectric elastomeric material.

A vibration device that includes a first elastic plate having a first end portion and a second end portion, and a first surface and a second surface facing each other and connecting the first and second end portions. A second elastic plate is laminated to the second end portion of the first elastic plate, and a piezoelectric vibration element is provided on at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the first elastic plate. On a portion where the first elastic plate and the second elastic plate are laminated, a first bonding portion and a second bonding portion that bond the first elastic plate and the second elastic plate to each other are provided. The second bonding portion is located closer to the first end portion than the first bonding portion.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a method for recovering degraded device performance of a piezoelectric device. The method includes operating the piezoelectric device in a performance mode by applying one or more voltage pulses to the piezoelectric device, and determining that a performance parameter of the piezoelectric device has a first value that has deviated from a reference value by more than a predetermined threshold value during a first time period. During a second time period, the method further includes applying a bipolar loop to the piezoelectric device, comprising positive and negative voltage biases. During a third time period, the method further includes operating the piezoelectric device in the performance mode, wherein the performance parameter has a second value. An absolute difference between the second value and the reference value is less than an absolute difference between the first value and the reference value.

A vibrating body includes a substrate, a piezoelectric element comprising a piezoelectric layer and electrode layers and joined to the substrate, and a ceramic layer between the substrate and the piezoelectric element. The ceramic layer comprises a first region and a second region which is adjacent to the first region in a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of the ceramic layer. The first region has a square shape, each side of the first region having a length equal to a thickness of the ceramic layer, the second region has a square shape, each side of the second region having the length equal to the thickness of the ceramic layer, and a difference between a porosity of the first region and a porosity of the second region is not greater than 15%.

Provided is a method of manufacturing an electrostrictive element by which an electrostrictive element including an expandable and contradictable film electrode having a thin and uniform thickness can be easily formed. In a method of manufacturing an electrostrictive element 1, screen printing is performed while a first jig 12 contacts with a face of a dielectric film 2 opposite to a face where screen printing is performed such that the first jig 12 surrounds an area where the screen printing is performed. Thus, a film electrode 3 is formed.

A vibration element includes: a substrate; a ceramic layer containing molten glass and provided on the substrate; and a piezoelectric element fixed to the substrate with the ceramic layer therebetween, wherein the piezoelectric element includes a first electrode layer provided in contact with the ceramic layer, a second electrode layer, and a piezoelectric layer provided between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and the first electrode layer has a thickness larger than that of the second electrode layer.