This invention provides electrically conductive electret, electret-based direct-current power source and structural electret, with applications including the self-sensing of damage, stress and strain (including structural self-sensing) and electric powering (including structural self-powering). The electret is an electrically conductive material comprising mobile charge carriers (electrons, holes or ions), which exhibit a gradient in the carrier concertation along a line connecting the positive charge center and negative charge center in the electret. The carriers create an electric dipole. The material is electrically continuous along this line, which is along the path of least electrical resistance. The material exhibits microstructure comprising microscopic features that are positioned along said line and that interact with said carriers, with the interaction enhancing said dipole. The materials are preferably metals, carbons and their composites. The electret's electric field preferably ranges from 10 V/m to 1 V/m. The electrical conductivity preferably ranges from 10.sup.3.sup.1.Math.m.sup.1 to 10.sup.8.sup.1.Math.m.sup.1.

A method for material deposition includes providing a transparent donor substrate (56, 60) having opposing first and second surfaces and multiple donor films (62, 64) including different, respective materials on the second surface. The donor substrate is positioned in proximity to an acceptor substrate (41), with the second surface facing toward the acceptor substrate. Pulses of laser radiation are directed to pass through the first surface of the donor substrate and impinge on the donor films so as to induce ejection of molten droplets containing a bulk mixture of the different materials from the donor films onto the acceptor substrate.

An electretized film of the present invention includes a cyclic olefin polymer, in which the electretized film is a non-porous film, and a piezoelectric constant d.sub.33 in a thickness direction, which is measured by applying a pressing force to the electretized film in the thickness direction, under conditions of a load of 0.5 N, a dynamic load of 0.25 N, a frequency of 110 Hz, a temperature of 23 C., and a humidity of 50%, is equal to or more than 100 pC/N.

An object of the present invention is to provide a low pressure-loss type of filter which has a high dust collecting capability and suppresses the lowering of the dust collecting capability even after cleaning. The present invention relates to an electret-treated sheet including at least a surface layer, a high dielectric layer and a back-surface layer, while having the high dielectric layer between the surface layer and the back-surface layer, wherein the surface layer and the back-surface layer are each a thermoplastic resin film having a relative dielectric constant of smaller than 6 at 100 kHz; the high dielectric layer is a material having a relative dielectric constant of 6 or larger at 100 kHz; and the surface layer and the back-surface layer each have a static charge due to electrostatically charge; and to a filter using the same.

Provided is an energy conversion film excellent in charge retention performance and suppressed in deterioration of piezoelectricity even if it is exposed to a high temperature environment and an energy conversion element and the like using the film. An energy conversion element comprising: an energy conversion film at least comprises a charged resin film consisting of a resin film at least containing a thermoplastic resin and a metal soap; and an electrode provided on at least one of the two surfaces of the energy conversion film.

An electret includes an electret layer. The electret layer is formed by subjecting a composite film in which inorganic dielectric particles are dispersed and held in a base film to a polarization treatment. The inorganic dielectric particles are mainly composed of an inorganic dielectric material having a bandgap energy of 4 eV or more.

A deep trench capacitor includes at least one deep trench and a layer stack including at least three metallic electrode layers interlaced with at least two node dielectric layers and continuously extending over the top surface of a substrate and into each of the at least one deep trench. A contact-level dielectric layer overlies the substrate and the layer stack. Contact assemblies extend through the contact-level dielectric layer. A subset of the contact assemblies vertically extend through a respective metallic electrode layer. For example, a first contact assembly includes a first tubular insulating spacer that laterally surrounds a first contact via structure and contacts a cylindrical sidewall of a topmost metallic electrode layer.

A variable capacitor device that includes a dielectric layer comprising a shape-memory polymer, a first metal plate and a second metal plate, wherein the dielectric layer is sandwiched between the first and the second metal plates. The shape-memory polymer has a first thickness at a first temperature under a first external compressive load, a second thickness at a second temperature under a second external compressive load, wherein the first thickness is greater than the second thickness, the second temperature is greater than the first temperature, and the second external compressive load is greater than the first external compressive load. The shape memory polymer having the second thickness is configured to convert to the shape-memory polymer having the first thickness when sequentially subjected to the first external compressive load and the second temperature.

The present disclosure provides a non-linear capacitor comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, and a dielectric layer disposed between said first and second electrodes. The dielectric layer comprises at least one organic compound selected from copolymer, homo-polymer, Sharp polymers, NLSD compounds and combination thereof which have at least one electro-polarizable aromatic polycyclic conjugated core. A relationship between a capacity C of the capacitor and a voltage V between the electrodes is characterized by the monotonously increasing polynomial dependence C.sub.0+.sub.i=1.sup.m C.sub.iV.sup.i, when the voltage V satisfies by following inequality 0<VV.sub.max, where the voltage V.sub.max is a maximum working voltage that does not exceed a breakdown voltage V.sub.bd and which is selected out of safety reasons, where at least one coefficient C.sub.i is not equal to 0 when the index i ranges from 2 to m, and m=2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

A deep trench capacitor includes at least one deep trench and a layer stack including at least three metallic electrode layers interlaced with at least two node dielectric layers and continuously extending over the top surface of a substrate and into each of the at least one deep trench. A contact-level dielectric layer overlies the substrate and the layer stack. Contact assemblies extend through the contact-level dielectric layer. A subset of the contact assemblies vertically extend through a respective metallic electrode layer. For example, a first contact assembly includes a first tubular insulating spacer that laterally surrounds a first contact via structure and contacts a cylindrical sidewall of a topmost metallic electrode layer.