Electrically induced and controlled piezoelectricity

Abstract

The quasi-linear electromechanical effect, which resembles piezoelectricity, can be induced by strong electric field in any solid dielectric. This effect is defined as linearized electrostriction, which is observed in the biasing electric field and is proportional to the square of the dielectric permittivity. The present work analyses physical mechanisms of the occurrence of such an effect in the piezoelectrics, the paraelectrics and the relaxor ferroelectrics, taking into account the inertia of electromechanical response. Hysteresis-less electromechanical control of deformation is used in actuators and tuneable microwave devices. The efficiency of the induced piezoelectricity is maximal in dielectrics with high permittivity, while the efficiency is ensured by mechanisms of low-inertia quasi-elastic polarization. To assess the maximum performance of piezoelectric actuators made of different materials, the method of dielectric spectroscopy is used.