An element includes an upper electrode, a flexible intermediate layer, and a lower electrode. The upper electrode having an uneven structure. The lower electrode is closely attached to the intermediate layer. The element is configured to generate an electrical signal due to contact and separation between the upper electrode and the intermediate layer. The lower electrode is configured to take a shape fittable to the uneven structure when the upper electrode and the intermediate layer come into contact with each other.

To obtain a piezoelectric film having excellent piezoelectric properties. An aspect of the present invention is a piezoelectric film having a crystal oriented in the c-axis direction and a crystal oriented in the a-axis direction, in which, when denoting the amount of a (004) component of the crystal oriented in the c-axis direction by C and denoting the amount of a (400) component of the crystal oriented in the a-axis direction by A, the piezoelectric film satisfies a formula 1 below.
C/(A+C)≧0.1  formula 1

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%.

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.

A piezoelectric element 1 includes a first electrode 20, a second electrode 40, and a piezoelectric layer 30 provided between the first electrode 20 and the second electrode 40. The piezoelectric layer 30 is composed of a composite oxide having a perovskite-type structure and containing potassium (K), sodium (Na), and niobium (Nb), and has a first peak derived from a (100) plane, a second peak derived from a (010) plane, and a third peak derived from a (001) plane in an X-ray diffraction pattern obtained by θ-2θ measurement.

A method to deposit a coating including a material with highly oriented microstructure, the method including at least the following sequence of process steps: providing a flat substrate into a first vacuum processing chamber; etching one surface of the substrate by physical vapor etching; depositing a first metallic layer on the etched substrate surface by sputtering in a first metal deposition step; annealing the first metallic layer at an annealing temperature at least 50° C. higher than a compound deposition temperature of the subsequent compound deposition step; depositing a first compound layer at the compound deposition temperature on the outer surface of the first metallic layer by reactive sputtering in a first compound deposition step; and depositing a second metallic layer on the outer surface of the first compound layer by sputtering in a second metal deposition step.

Provided are a piezoluminescence structure, a piezoelectric structure, a manufacturing method thereof, and a high-sensitivity pressure sensor using the same. The piezoelectric structure includes: a plurality of perovskite material layers each including a material having an A.sub.nB.sub.nO.sub.3n perovskite structure; and interlayers inserted between the plurality of perovskite material layers and including A*O which is a metal oxide having reaction resistance to CO.sub.2. Here, A and A* are different elements and are one of an alkaline earth metal element, an alkali metal element, a lanthanide element, and a post-transition metal element, B is a transition metal element, O is an oxygen element, and n is a positive (+) integer. The piezoelectric structure may be a piezoluminescence structure.

A piezoelectric sensor, comprising: a stress applying layer in which a plurality of stress applying grooves extending in parallel with a first direction are formed in a predetermined region on a whole surface; and a piezoelectric layer that is layered on the stress applying layer and formed from a polymer piezoelectric material containing an optical active polymer.

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 10 includes a lower electrode, constituted of a Pt/Ti laminated film, a PLT seed layer, formed on the lower electrode, a PZT piezoelectric film, formed on the PLT seed layer, and an upper electrode, formed on the PZT piezoelectric film. A curve Q1 is a curve drawn such as to pass through a plurality of plotted points, each expressing a PLT (100) peak intensity with respect to a Pt (111) peak intensity according to a substrate setting temperature during forming of the Pt/Ti laminated film. A relationship of the PLT (100) peak intensity with respect to the Pt (111) peak intensity is within a range in the curve Q1 until the PLT (100) peak intensity decreases by 5% from a peak point P, at which the PLT (100) peak intensity is the maximum, and a (100) orientation rate of PLT constituting the seed layer is not less than 85%.