The invention relates to an adjustable or tuneable lens assembly where a deformable, non-fluid lens body is sandwiched between a bendable lens cover and a back window to form a lens. The lens assembly has an actuator system with a plurality of individually addressable actuators for applying force to the lens cover in direction along the optical axis to change an overall shape of the lens. The actuator system has a focus adjustment mode to adjust the optical power of the lens and an optical image stabilisation mode, which are configured to operate simultaneously by addressing each actuator to apply a force being at least substantially a sum of the forces that would be applied in these modes.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, an electronic device may include a housing including a first plate facing in a first direction and a second plate facing in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a key assembly disposed on at least part of the first plate and including a plurality of keys for inputting data by a pressing operation, wherein the key assembly includes a keycap, a printed circuit board, a support structure disposed on the printed circuit board to support the keycap and supporting a pressing operation of the keycap, a contact point portion disposed between the support structure and the printed circuit board, a movable portion coupled to the support structure in the second direction, and an actuator coupled to the movable portion and providing a force for moving the keycap in the first direction or the second direction depending on whether the actuator is activated.

An imaging device includes a two dimensional array of piezoelectric elements. Each piezoelectric element includes: a piezoelectric layer; a bottom electrode disposed on a bottom side of the piezoelectric layer and configured to receive a transmit signal during a transmit mode and develop an electrical charge during a receive mode; and a first top electrode disposed on a top side of the piezoelectric layer; and a first conductor, wherein the first top electrodes of a portion of the piezoelectric elements in a first column of the two dimensional array are electrically coupled to the first conductor.

A method of manufacturing a ceramic structure, a method of manufacturing a ceramic structure with multiple layers of ceramic material, and a method of manufacturing a piezoelectric ceramic structure. The method of manufacturing a ceramic structure includes the steps of: placing a sheet of ceramic material on a supporting platform, wherein the supporting platform is arranged to elevate the sheet of ceramic material from a base of the supporting platform by supporting only a first portion of the sheet of ceramic material; sintering the sheet of ceramic material; and during the step of sintering of the sheet of ceramic material, facilitating forming a curvature on the sheet of ceramic material at a second portion of the sheet of ceramic material which is not supported by the supporting platform.

An electromechanical actuator includes a primary electrode, a secondary electrode overlying at least a portion of the primary electrode, and an electroactive layer disposed between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, where the electroactive layer has a first curvature when zero voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode, and a second curvature when a non-zero voltage is applied between the primary electrode and the secondary electrode.

Disclosed is a linear piezoelectric motor having a waterproof function. A coupler is provided inside a housing, and a moving shaft is fixed to a piezoelectric actuator by the coupler. A fastening unit is provided on a side surface of the moving shaft passing through the housing and in a concave recessed part of the housing. The fastening unit is provided with an elastic tube and a tension spring, and the moving shaft inserted into the elastic tube is inserted into an insertion hole of the housing.

A transceiver includes an array of pMUT elements, where each pMUT element includes: a substrate; a membrane suspending from the substrate; a bottom electrode disposed on the membrane; a piezoelectric layer disposed on the bottom electrode; and a first electrode disposed on the piezoelectric layer. Each pMUT element exhibits one or more modes of vibration.

An imaging system includes: a transceiver cell for generating a pressure wave and converting an external pressure wave into an electrical signal; and a control unit for controlling an operation of the transceiver cell. The transceiver cell includes: a substrate; at least one membrane suspending from the substrate; and a plurality of transducer elements mounted on the at least one membrane. Each of the plurality of transducer elements has a bottom electrode, a piezoelectric layer on bottom electrode, and at least one top electrode on the piezoelectric layer. Each of the plurality of transducer element generates a bending moment in response to applying an electrical potential across the bottom electrode and the at least one top electrode and develops an electrical charge in response to a bending moment due to the external pressure wave.

A helical dielectric elastomer actuator (HDEA) can include a first dielectric region comprising an elastomer defining a helix. In an example, a dielectric material can be deposited and a compliant conductive material can be deposited, such as using an additive manufacturing approach, to provide an HDEA. In an example where the HDEA has multiple mechanical degrees of freedom, at least two compliant conductive regions can be located on a first surface of the first dielectric region and at least one compliant conductive region can be located on an opposite second surface of the first dielectric region. For such an example, the at least two compliant conductive regions can be arranged to be energized with respect to the at least one compliant conductive region in a manner providing at least two mechanical degrees of freedom for operation of the HDEA.

A membrane device includes a trench substrate having trenches and a membrane having wrinkles. The membrane is not bonded to the trenches of the trench substrate but is bonded to the surface of the trench substrate in the shoulders of the trenches. Hills and valleys are alternately arranged in the membrane along the trenches. The membrane device can be used in various applications (for example, sensors) based on variations in the electrical properties of the membrane caused by a change in the shape of the wrinkles (a change in the strain) of the membrane in response to a change in the internal or external environment of the trenches.