Material properties are manipulated using rapid pulse application of energy in combination with applied electric or magnetic fields. When sintering, annealing or crystallizing a target film, the pulse repetition cycle can be constrained to ensure material temperature rises above and falls below the Curie temperature before the next energy pulse. This process results in enhanced material properties as compared to traditional techniques having a single, slow temperature excursion and subsequent application of the applied external field.

Material properties are manipulated using rapid pulse application of energy in combination with applied electric or magnetic fields. When sintering, annealing or crystallizing a target film, the pulse repetition cycle can be constrained to ensure material temperature rises above and falls below the Curie temperature before the next energy pulse. This process results in enhanced material properties as compared to traditional techniques having a single, slow temperature excursion and subsequent application of the applied external field.

There is provided a piezoelectric laminate, including: a substrate; and a piezoelectric film formed on the substrate, wherein the piezoelectric film contains an alkali niobium oxide represented by a composition formula of (K.sub.1−xNa.sub.x)NbO.sub.3 (0<x<1), having a perovskite structure, and contains a metallic element selected from a group consisting of Cu and Mn at a concentration of more than 0.6 at % and 2.0 at % or less.

There is provided a piezoelectric laminate, including: a substrate; and a piezoelectric film formed on the substrate, wherein the piezoelectric film contains an alkali niobium oxide represented by a composition formula of (K.sub.1−xNa.sub.x)NbO.sub.3 (0<x<1), having a perovskite structure, and contains a metallic element selected from a group consisting of Cu and Mn at a concentration of more than 0.6 at % and 2.0 at % or less.

A technology of fabricating a piezoelectric composite applicable to an ultrasonic transducer is disclosed. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a support member formed with a plurality of through holes is located on one surface of an electrode plate, and lower surfaces of piezoelectric pillars having shapes respectively corresponding to the through holes are adhered onto the one surface of the electrode plate to form the piezoelectric pillars. Further, according to an additional aspect, the plurality of piezoelectric pillars having shapes corresponding to the through holes of the support member are formed by sintering a piezoelectric pellet molded in a pillar shape.

The invention relates to a method for producing ceramics having piezoelectric properties in predominantly aqueous suspending agents.

Provided is a piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite, a method of manufacturing the same, and piezoelectric and dielectric application components using the piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite. The piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite shows that complexation is carried out by the optimization of a ratio between grain size distributions of a piezoelectric single crystal and polycrystal ceramic grains, and a volume ratio of the contained piezoelectric single crystal so that mass production simultaneously with excellent piezoelectric characteristics of the piezoelectric single crystal can be realized, and the cost of production can be reduced, so the piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite can be applied to piezoelectric and dielectric application components, like ultrasonic transducers, piezoelectric actuators, piezoelectric sensors, dielectric capacitors, electric field-generating transducers, and electric field and vibration-generating transducers, using the piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite, and the piezoelectric single crystal-polycrystal ceramic composite can enhance piezoelectric characteristics and competitiveness in prices.

[Object] To provide a porous piezoelectric material molded body highly useful as a constituent material of a piezoelectric transducer suitable, in particular, for a probe of medical ultrasound diagnosis equipment. [Solution] A porous piezoelectric material molded body, in which 1000 or more spherical pores with an average pore diameter in the range of 2 to 70 μm are dispersedly formed per volume of 1 mm3, is characterized in that there is substantially no pore with a pore diameter larger than 50 μm, and 80% by volume or more of the total pores that constitute a spherical pore group have a pore diameter within ±20% of the average pore diameter.

Provided is a piezoelectric single crystal comprising an internal bias electric field, a method of manufacturing the same, and piezoelectric and dielectric application components using the piezoelectric single crystal. The piezoelectric single crystal shows that as a change in each composition of [A] site ions, [B] site ions and [O] site ions from a perovskite type crystal structure ( [A] [B] O.sub.3), and oxygen partial-pressure during heat treatment in terms of a manufacturing process are controlled, while maintaining the inherent high dielectric constant and piezoelectric constant, the high internal bias electric field (EI) characteristic essential for the electrical stability of the piezoelectric single crystal is simultaneously satisfied. Therefore, piezoelectric application components and dielectric application components using the piezoelectric single crystal having excellent characteristics can be used in a wide temperature range and operating voltage conditions.

Provided is a piezoelectric single crystal comprising an internal bias electric field, a method of manufacturing the same, and piezoelectric and dielectric application components using the piezoelectric single crystal. The piezoelectric single crystal shows that as a change in each composition of [A] site ions, [B] site ions and [O] site ions from a perovskite type crystal structure ( [A] [B] O.sub.3), and oxygen partial-pressure during heat treatment in terms of a manufacturing process are controlled, while maintaining the inherent high dielectric constant and piezoelectric constant, the high internal bias electric field (EI) characteristic essential for the electrical stability of the piezoelectric single crystal is simultaneously satisfied. Therefore, piezoelectric application components and dielectric application components using the piezoelectric single crystal having excellent characteristics can be used in a wide temperature range and operating voltage conditions.