An actuator assembly includes a primary electrode, a secondary electrode overlapping at least a portion of the primary electrode, and an electroactive polymer layer disposed between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, where the electroactive polymer layer includes a non-vertical (e.g., sloped) sidewall with respect to a major surface of at least one of the electrodes. The electroactive polymer layer may be characterized by a non-axisymmetric shape with respect to an axis that is oriented orthogonal to an electrode major surface.

A piezoelectric member including metal electrodes with improved adhesiveness to piezoelectric elements is to be provided. A piezoelectric member 102 includes a piezoelectric element 21, and a pair of electrodes 41, 42 respectively formed on a pair of opposing surfaces 21b, 21c of the piezoelectric element 21. The electrodes 41, 42 includes: a base film 41a that is formed on the opposing surfaces 21b, 21c of the piezoelectric element 21 and contains a thiol group; a metal adhesive film 41b formed on the base film 41a; and an electrode film 41c that is formed on the metal adhesive film 41b and is for applying voltage to the piezoelectric element 21. The metal adhesive film 41b is formed with a different material from the electrode film 41c, and has a thickness of 1 to 10 nm.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a processing tool that includes a wafer chuck disposed within a hot plate chamber and having an upper surface configured to hold a semiconductor wafer. A heating element is disposed within the wafer chuck and configured to increase a temperature of the wafer chuck. A motor is coupled to the wafer chuck and configured to rotate the wafer chuck around an axis of rotation extending through the upper surface of the wafer chuck. The processing tool further includes control circuitry coupled to the motor and configured to operate the motor to rotate the wafer chuck while the temperature of the wafer chuck is increased to form a piezoelectric layer from a sol-gel solution layer on the semiconductor wafer.

A micro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) guided wave device includes a piezoelectric layer including multiple thinned regions of different thicknesses each bounding in part a different recess, different groups of electrodes on or adjacent to different thinned regions and arranged for transduction of lateral acoustic waves of different wavelengths in the different thinned regions, and at least one bonded interface between the piezoelectric layer and a substrate. Optionally, a buffer layer may be intermediately bonded between the piezoelectric layer and the substrate. Methods of producing such devices include locally thinning a piezoelectric layer to define multiple recesses, bonding the piezoelectric layer on or over a substrate layer to cause the recesses to be bounded in part by either the substrate or an optional buffer layer, and defining multiple groups of electrodes on or over the different thinned regions.

A method of making a piezoelectric sensor includes forming piezoelectric layer(s) to define a beam extending between a proximal portion and a distal end. The method also includes modeling a strain distribution on the beam based on a force applied to the beam, and defining an outer boundary with a shape substantially corresponding to a contour line of the strain distribution on the beam. The method also includes forming an electrode having said outer boundary shape, and attaching the electrode to the beam. The method also includes attaching the beam to a substrate in cantilever form so that the proximal portion of the beam is anchored to the substrate and the distal end of the beam is unsupported.

A method of making a piezoelectric sensor includes forming piezoelectric layer(s) to define a beam extending between a proximal portion and a distal end. The method also includes modeling a strain distribution on the beam based on a force applied to the beam, and defining an outer boundary with a shape substantially corresponding to a contour line of the strain distribution on the beam. The method also includes forming an electrode having said outer boundary shape, and attaching the electrode to the beam. The method also includes attaching the beam to a substrate in cantilever form so that the proximal portion of the beam is anchored to the substrate and the distal end of the beam is unsupported.

A piezoelectric device and method of manufacturing are described. A first substrate is provided with an array of pillars comprising piezoelectric material. A second substrate is provided with a piezoelectric layer facing respective ends of the pillars. The respective ends of the pillars are pushed into the piezoelectric layer, while the piezoelectric layer is at least partially liquid. The piezoelectric layer is solidified to form an integral connection between the piezoelectric layer and the pillars. The piezoelectric layer can thus form a bridging structure between the respective ends of the pillars. The integral piezoelectric structure can be poled by high voltage. The bridging structure can act as a platform for depositing electrical contacts. The piezoelectric device can be used for generating or detecting acoustic waves, e.g. in medical imaging.

The present disclosure provides a haptic feedback base plate, a haptic feedback apparatus and a haptic feedback method. The haptic feedback base plate comprises: a substrate and a deformation unit disposed on one side of the substrate. The deformation unit comprises a first electrode, a piezoelectric material layer and a second electrode that are arranged in a stacked manner, the first electrode is arranged close to the substrate, the first electrode and the second electrode are configured to form an alternating electric field, and the piezoelectric material layer vibrates under the effect of the alternating electric field and drives the substrate to resonate, wherein a difference between a frequency of the alternating electric field and an inherent frequency of the substrate is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

A micro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) guided wave device includes a single crystal piezoelectric layer and at least one guided wave confinement structure configured to confine a laterally excited wave in the single crystal piezoelectric layer. A bonded interface is provided between the single crystal piezoelectric layer and at least one underlying layer. A multi-frequency device includes first and second groups of electrodes arranged on or in different thickness regions of a single crystal piezoelectric layer, with at least one guided wave confinement structure. Segments of a segmented piezoelectric layer and a segmented layer of electrodes are substantially registered in a device including at least one guided wave confinement structure.

A micro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) guided wave device includes a single crystal piezoelectric layer and at least one guided wave confinement structure configured to confine a laterally excited wave in the single crystal piezoelectric layer. A bonded interface is provided between the single crystal piezoelectric layer and at least one underlying layer. A multi-frequency device includes first and second groups of electrodes arranged on or in different thickness regions of a single crystal piezoelectric layer, with at least one guided wave confinement structure. Segments of a segmented piezoelectric layer and a segmented layer of electrodes are substantially registered in a device including at least one guided wave confinement structure.