A liquid-ejecting head includes a pressure-generating chamber communicating with a nozzle opening, and a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric layer contains a perovskite complex oxide containing Bi, La, Fe, and Mn and is ferroelectric.

A residual stress in a PZT type ferroelectric film 12 formed on a substrate body 11 by a sol-gel process is −14 MPa to −31 MPa, and the ferroelectric film 12 is crystal oriented in a (100) plane.

Provided is a coating liquid for forming a piezoelectric thin film containing lead zirconate titanate, the coating liquid including a complex precursor containing at least three kinds of metal elements of Pb, Ti, and Zr, the coating liquid being free from an exothermic peak at a temperature of 450° C. or more, or having a heat generation amount at a temperature of from 400° C. to 450° C., which is larger than a heat generation amount at a temperature of from 450° C. to 500° C., in differential thermal analysis of the coating liquid.

An electromechanical-transducing electronic component includes at least one element array of electromechanical transducer elements. A piezoelectric material of each transducer element is made of a composite oxide having a perovskite structure preferentially oriented to at least one of (100) and (001) planes and has a drop of diffraction intensity in a rocking curve corresponding to at least one of (200) and (002) planes measured at a position (2θ=θmax) of a diffraction peak intensity P where the diffraction intensity is largest in a diffraction intensity peak corresponding to the at least one of the (200) and (002) planes out of diffraction intensity peaks measured by an X-ray diffraction θ-2θ method. ΔP/P.sub.AVE is 20% or less where P.sub.AVE represents an average of the intensity P in the element array in the piezoelectric material of each transducer element and ΔP represents a maximum difference of the intensity P in the array.

Various examples are provided for multiferroic thin films. In one example, a multiferroic thin film device includes a thin film of multiferroic material and an electrode disposed on a side of the thin film of multiferroic material. The multiferroic material can be (Fe.sub.x,Sr.sub.1-x)TiO.sub.3 In another example, a method for producing a multiferroic thin film includes forming a multiferroic pre-cursor; disposing the multiferroic precursor on a substrate to form a multiferroic coating; pre-baking the multiferroic coating on the substrate to form a pre-baked multiferroic thin film; and annealing the pre-baked multiferroic thin film under an oxygen atmosphere to form a crystalized multiferroic thin film. One or more electrodes can be formed on the crystalized multiferroic thin film.

A piezoelectric element includes a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer formed of a first piezoelectric film which is formed on the first electrode and which includes potassium, sodium, and niobium and a plurality of second piezoelectric films which are formed on the first piezoelectric film and which include potassium, sodium, and niobium, and a second electrode formed on the piezoelectric layer, in which the piezoelectric layer is a stack of a plurality of piezoelectric films, the first piezoelectric film has a thickness of 30 nm to 70 nm, a concentration of sodium in each of the piezoelectric films is along a gradient in the film thickness direction with the first electrode side being high and the second electrode side being low.

A process of forming an integrated circuit containing a piezoelectric thin film by forming a sol gel layer, drying in at least 1 percent relative humidity, baking starting between 100 and 225° C. increasing to between 275 and 425° C. over at least 2 minutes, and forming the piezoelectric thin film by baking the sol gel layer between 250 and 350° C. for at least 20 seconds, annealing between 650 and 750° C. for at least 60 seconds in an oxidizing ambient pressure between 700 and 1000 torr and a flow rate between 3 and 7 slm, followed by annealing between 650 and 750° C. for at least 20 seconds in a pressure between 4 and 10 torr and a flow rate of at least 5 slm, followed by ramping down the temperature.

A piezoelectric device includes a diaphragm, a piezoelectric actuator, and an orientation layer between the diaphragm and the piezoelectric layer. The piezoelectric actuator has a first electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode, with the first electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a second electrode on the diaphragm. The orientation layer is a stack of two or more tiers.

A composition for forming a PZT-based piezoelectric film formed of Mn-doped composite metal oxides is provided, the composition including: PZT-based precursors containing metal atoms configuring the composite metal oxides; a diol; and polyvinylpyrrolidone, in which when a metal atom ratio in the composition is shown as Pb:Mn:Zr:Ti, the PZT-based precursors are contained so that a metal atom ratio of Pb is satisfied to be from 1.00 to 1.20, a metal atom ratio of Mn is satisfied to be equal to or greater than 0.002 and less than 0.05, a metal atom ratio of Zr is satisfied to be from 0.40 to 0.55, a metal atom ratio of Ti is satisfied to be from 0.45 to 0.60, and the total of Zr and Ti in a metal atom ratio is 1.

A ferroelectric device comprising a substrate; a textured layer; a first electrode comprising a thin layer of metallic material having a crystal lattice structure divided into granular regions; a seed layer; the seed layer being epitaxially deposited so as to form a column-like structure on top of the granular regions of the first electrode; at least one ferroelectric material layer exhibiting spontaneous polarization epitaxially deposited on the seed layer; the ferroelectric material layer, the seed layer, and first electrode each having granular regions in which column-like structures produce a high degree of polarization normal to the growth plane and a method of making.