A piezoelectric device that exhibits good piezoelectric characteristics, while reducing generation of leakage current paths, and a method of manufacturing the same, are provided. The piezoelectric device has a multilayer stack in which a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode are stacked in this order on a substrate, wherein at least the first electrode is formed of an amorphous oxide conductor.

A method for forming a dielectric elastomer transducer of the present invention includes: a first electrode layer fixing step of fixing a first electrode layer to a target object; a dielectric elastomer layer fixing step of fixing a dielectric elastomer layer to the first electrode layer; and a second electrode layer fixing step of fixing a second electrode layer to the dielectric elastomer layer. This configuration ensures that the dielectric elastomer transducer highly conforms to the target object.

An electric controlled bi-directional bending actuator with deformability and stiffness tunable capacity is disclosed. The electric controlled bi-directional bending actuator with deformability and stiffness tunable capacity comprises three kinds of functional layers that are electro-deformable layers, electro-variable stiffness layers and flexible electrodes. From up to bottom, they are the first flexible electrodes layer, the first electro-deformable layer, the second flexible electrodes layer, the electro-variable stiffness layer, the third flexible electrode layer, the second electro-deformable layer and the fourth flexible electrode layer. The adjacent layers are glued together. The electro-deformable layer is made from dielectric elastomers. The electro-variable stiffness layer is made from electro-rheological materials, including electro-rheological fluids, electro-rheological gels or electro-rheological elastomers. Compared with the present pneumatic actuators with deformability and stiffness tunable capacity, the invention has such merits as simple structure, precise regulation, quick response, convenient control and insensitive to environmental.

A piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric layer, a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, and a connecting electrode. The piezoelectric layer includes first and second surfaces, and a through-hole. The second electrode layer is adjacent to the second surface of the piezoelectric layer. The second electrode layer faces the through-hole. The second electrode layer includes silicon as a major component. The connecting electrode is on a connecting surface of the second electrode layer, and the connecting surface faces the through-hole. The connecting electrode is made of a metal. A surface roughness of the connecting surface is greater than a surface roughness of a major surface. The major surface is a portion, other than the connecting surface, of a surface of the second electrode layer, and the surface is adjacent to the piezoelectric layer.

The occurrence of cracking in a functional layer is suppressed, while maintaining flexibility of a layered structure. The layered structure includes a polymer substrate, and a crystalline functional layer formed on the first surface of the substrate. The surface roughness of the first surface of the substrate is 3 nm or less in terms of arithmetic mean roughness (Ra).

A piezoelectric element, a piezoelectric vibrator and a manufacturing method thereof, and an electronic device, a piezoelectric structure is arranged on a first electrode, and a second electrode is arranged on the piezoelectric structure, wherein the second electrode includes a conductive layer and an anti-oxidation layer arranged on the piezoelectric structure in sequence. The conductive layer is configured to generate, when a breakdown short circuit occurs in the piezoelectric element, solid solution between a breakdown location of the piezoelectric element and anti-oxidation layer, and oxidize to generate an insulating material. The conductive layer and anti-oxidation layer are used as top electrodes of the piezoelectric element, when the breakdown short circuit occurs in the piezoelectric structure of the piezoelectric element, the conductive layer is melted by a huge amount of heat generated by the short circuit, a solid solution is formed by the anti-oxidation layer and the conductive layer.

A piezoelectric sensor (10) having an elongated-sheet shape includes a piezoelectric layer (11) containing an elastomer and piezoelectric particles and electrode layers (12a and 12b) which are disposed with the piezoelectric layer (11) sandwiched between the electrode layers. In the piezoelectric sensor (10), a pressure sensing region (S) has a length of 500 mm or longer in a longitudinal direction thereof; the electrode layers (12a and 12b) contain an elastomer and flaky conductive materials and are capable of elongating by 10% or more in one direction of plane directions; and when a space between one end portion (A) and the other end portion (B) of the pressure sensing region (S) in the longitudinal direction is set as a measurement zone, an electrical resistance in the measurement zone in the electrode layers (12a and 12b) is 3,000Ω or lower, and the specific Expression (I) is satisfied.

There is provided a piezoelectric laminate including, in the following order, a lower electrode layer and a piezoelectric film containing a Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide, in which the piezoelectric film contains an oxygen atom .sup.18O having a mass number of 18 in oxygen as a constituent element in excess of a natural abundance ratio. There are also provided a piezoelectric laminate, a piezoelectric element, and a manufacturing method for a piezoelectric laminate.

There are provided a substrate with a piezoelectric film and a piezoelectric element, including on a substrate in the following order, a lower electrode layer and a piezoelectric film, in which in a case where B is denoted as a B site element in a perovskite-type structure, the piezoelectric film includes, a first region containing a perovskite-type oxide represented by General Formula (1), Pb.sub.δBO.sub.3 (1), here 1≤δ≤1.5, and a second region consisting of the same elements as elements in the first region and containing an oxide represented by General Formula (2), Pb.sub.αBO.sub.3 (2), here δ/3≤α<δ, and the second region is provided on an outermost layer of the piezoelectric film opposite to the lower electrode layer.

A pressing sensor includes a piezoelectric film and first and second detection electrodes. The piezoelectric film has a chiral polymer drawn at least in a uniaxial direction, and has a first main surface and a second main surface. The first and second detection electrodes are arranged on at least one of the first and second main surfaces. The first and second detection electrodes are arranged so as to face each other obliquely to the uniaxial direction.