Master’s Thesis deals with obtaining electricity from the vibrations of the surrounding environment through piezoelectric vibration generator. To simulation piezoceramics and design mechanical parts of the generator was used simulation program ANSYS 10.0. First, parameters of the designed piezoelectric generator were numerically calculated, and then these values were compared with the real sample. Further work is in the description of material properties of piezo materials.

Siebgedruckte piezokeramische Dickschichten eignen sich für Sensoren, Aktoren oder Ultraschallwandler. Zur Auslegung von Dickschicht-Aktoren werden grundlegende Kenntnisse über die elektromechanischen Eigenschaften benötigt. Diese Arbeit beschreibt die elektromechanischen Eigenschaften piezokeramischer Dickschichten unter Klein- und Großsignalbedingungen. Durch gezielte Variationen der Biegerlänge und Materialien werden Einflüsse auf die Gefügeentwicklung, das Arbeitsvermögen und weitere elektromechanische Kennwerte beschrieben und optimale Herstellungsparameter identifiziert. Interdigitalelektroden (IDE) ermöglichen die Polarisation und Ansteuerung der piezokeramischen Schicht in der Ebene (in-plane). Aufgrund des d 33 -Effektes kommt es zur Dehnung in der Ebene, woraus eine Verdopplung der Biegung in entgegengesetzter Richtung zu through-thickness-Aktoren resultiert. In der Arbeit wird das Arbeitsvermögen siebgedruckter in-plane-Biegeaktoren in Abhängigkeit vom Substratmaterial, von der Biegerlänge und vom piezokeramischen Material beschrieben und diskutiert. An zwei Mikropositioniersystemen wird die Eignung piezokeramischer Dickschichtaktoren für adaptive optische Systeme gezeigt.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of actively controlled piezoceramics with positive position feedback (PPF) for reducing structural vibrations. A comparison is made between active control with PPF and a parallel resistor-inductor (RLC) shunt technique. The primary objectives of this study are to: 1. Explore the feasibility of using smart materials and fiber optics for simultaneous health monitoring and active damping of a representative aircraft panel. 2. Determine how optical fiber sensors may be used to detect vibration modes of an aircraft panel by investigating their use on a representative test article. 3. Determine how piezoelectric patches may be used to detect and counteract fundamental resonances of a representative test article. 4. Determine a control algorithm and hardware system to increase substantially the damping in the fundamental mode of the representative test article over a wide temperature range. 5. Develop a health-monitoring algorithm based on fiber optic sensors to detect impedance changes in a representative test article. 6. Make a comparison between active control with PPF and an RLC shunt technique. To achieve the objectives of this study, a special test rig was used to evaluate the performance of piezoelectric materials (PZTs) for vibration suppression. The test rig was used to rigidly clamp a flat 20-guage steel plate, and then excite the plate in various frequency ranges with an electromagnetic shaker. For each test, a data acquisition system was used to acquire the data to evaluate the performance of each PPF controller. Once the data was obtained, a comparison was made between active damping with PPF and passive damping with the RLC shunt technique. The active damping technique used for this study combined piezoelectric actuators with fiber optic sensors to achieve simultaneous active control and health monitoring of a test plate. The results of the active damping tests show that piezoelectric materials can provide substantial narrowband and broadband frequency reductions, while at the same time detecting damage on the test plate. More specifically, the test results indicate that smart damping materials can decrease the fundamental mode of vibration of the test plate by 23 dB and detect damage such as a loose bolt in the clamping frame, with the addition of only 0.04 lb of PZT on the test plate. The active damping technique reduced the plate vibrations at each mode within the frequency range of interest, with only one-third the amount of piezoelectric material needed for an RLC shunt circuit technique. / Master of Science

Piezokeramischen Werkstoffe auf der Basis von Bleizirkonat - Titanat (PZT) zeigen Extremwerte der elektromechanischen Eigenschaften im morphotropen Phasenübergangsbereich. Durch Modifikation des Verhältnisses von rhomboedrischer und tetragonaler Phase im Gefüge können die piezoelektrischen Eigenschaften des Werkstoffs entsprechend den jeweiligen Anforderungen angepasst werden. Es wurde eine Methode vorgestellt, einen mathematisch kohärenten Satz piezoelektrischer Kleinsignalkoeffizienten vollständig und mit hoher Genauigkeit über einen breiten Temperatur-(-200°C...+200°C) und Zusammensetzungsbereich (0...1 rh/tet) zu bestimmen. Desweiteren wurden die piezoelektrischen Eigenschaften dem Phasenanteil im Gefüge zugeordnet. / Piezoceramic materials based on Lead- Zirconate- Titanate (PZT) show extreme electromechanic properties in the area of morphotropic phase transition. PZT materials can be tailored to specific demands by modifying the ratio of volume of the rhombohedral and tetragonal phase within the micro structure. A method was introduced to accurately determine a complete and mathematically coherent set of piezoelectric small signal coefficients. This was done over a wide range of temperature (-200°C…+200°C) and phase composition (0…1 rh/tet). Additionally, the piezoelectric properties were correlated to the ratio of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases.

Piezoelectric materials find use as actuators and sensors in automotive, aerospace and other related industries. Automotive applications such as fuel injection nozzles and engine health monitoring systems require operating temperatures as high as 300-500 oC. The commercially used piezoelectric material PbZr1-xTixO3 (PZT) is limited to operating temperatures as low as 200 oC due to the temperature induced depolarization effects. PZT, in the undoped state exhibits a piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of 223 pC/N and ferroelectric-paraelectric transition temperature (Tc) of 386 oC. The enhanced properties of PZT occur at a region between the tetragonal and rhombohedral phases, called the Morphotropic Phase Boundary (MPB). Therefore, search for new materials with higher thermal stability and better sensing capabilities were focused on systems that exhibit a PZT-like MPB. This led to the discovery of (x)BiScO3-(1-x)PbTiO3 (BSPT), which exhibits an MPB with enhanced Tc (450 oC) and exceptionally high piezoelectric response (d33 = 460 pC/N). Theoretical studies have shown that the mechanism of enhanced piezoresponse in ferroelectric systems is related to the anisotropic flattening of the free energy profiles. An alternative view point attributes the anomalous piezoelectric response to the presence of high density of low energy domain walls near an inter-ferroelectric transition. Diffraction is a versatile tool to study the structural and microstructural changes of ferroelectric systems upon application of electric field. However, characterization of electric field induced structural and microstructural changes is not a trivial task, since in situ electric field dependent diffraction studies almost invariably give diffraction patterns laden with strong preferred orientation effects, due to the tendency of the ferroelectric/ferroelastic domains to align along the field direction. Additionally, diffraction profiles of MPB compositions exhibit severe overlap of Bragg peaks of the coexisting phases, and hence, it is difficult to ascertain with certainty, if the alteration in the intensity profiles upon application of electric field is due to change in phase fraction of the coexisting phases or due to preferred orientation induced in the different phases by the electric field. The characterization of electric field induced phase transformation in MPB systems, has therefore eluded researchers and has been considered of secondary importance, presumably due to the difficulties in unambiguously establishing the structural changes upon application of electric field. In fact, majority of the in situ electric field dependent diffraction studies have been carried out on compositions just outside the MPB range, i.e. on single phase compositions. In such studies, the focus has been mainly on explaining the piezoelectric response in terms of motions of the non-180° domain walls and field induced lattice strains. In this dissertation, the BSPT system has been systematically investigated with the view to understand the role of different contributing factors to the anomalous piezoelectric response of compositions close to the MPB. Using a comparative in situ electric field dependent diffraction study on a core MPB composition exhibiting highest piezoelectric response and a single phase monoclinic (pseudo-rhombohedral) composition just outside the MPB, it is demonstrated that, inspite of the significantly large domain switching and lattice strain (obtained from peak shifts) in the single phase composition, as compared to the MPB composition, the single phase composition shows considerably low piezoelectric response. This result clearly revealed that the anomalous piezoelectric response of the MPB composition is primarily associated with field induced inter-ferroelectric transformation and the corresponding field induced interphase boundary motion. A simple strategy has been employed to establish the field induced structural transformation for the MPB compositions, by overcoming the experimental limitation of in situ electric field dependent diffraction studies. The idea stemmed from the fact that, if the specimens for diffraction study can be used in powder form instead of pellet, the problems associated with preferred orientation effects can be eliminated, and the nature of field induced structural changes can be accurately determined. A comparative study of the diffraction profiles from poled (after subjecting the specimen to electric field) and unpoled (before subjecting the specimen to electric field) powders could precisely establish the nature of electric field induced phase transformation for the MPB compositions of BSPT and provided a direct correlation between the electric field induced structural changes and the enhanced piezoelectric response. A new ‘powder poling’ technique was devised, which involves application of electric field to powder form of the specimen. Using this technique, it was possible to study separately, the effect of stress and electric field on the nature of structural transformation. A unique outcome of this study was, it could demonstrate for the first time, analogous nature of the stress and electric field induced structural transformation. A comparative study of the dielectric response of poled and unpoled samples was used to show a counterintuitive phenomenon of field induced decrease in polarization coherence for the MPB compositions. This approach was used to suggest that the criticality associated with the MPB extends beyond the composition boundary conventionally reported in literature based on bulk diffraction techniques (x-ray and neutron powder diffraction). The layout of the dissertation is as follows: Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction of the fundamental concepts related to ferroelectric materials. The theories that explain the enhanced piezoresponse of MPB based ferroelectric systems have been outlined. Detailed information of the existing literature is presented in the relevant chapters. Chapter 2 presents the details of the solid state synthesis of BSPT compositions and structural analysis using diffraction studies. The dielectric measurements were used to establish the Tc for the different compositions. The enhanced ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were observed for the MPB compositions, which were shown to exhibit coexistence of tetragonal and monoclinic phases from structural studies. The critical MPB composition exhibiting highest piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties was established to be x = 0.3725. The thermal stability of the critical MPB composition was established to be 400 oC using ex situ thermal depolarization studies. The common approach of structural analysis in the unpoled state failed to provide a unique relationship between the anomalous piezoelectric response and the structural factors at the MPB, emphasizing the need to characterize these system using electric field dependent structural studies. Chapter 3 presents the results of in situ electric field dependent diffraction measurements carried out at Argonne National Laboratory, USA. The quasi-static field measurements could successfully quantify the non-180o domain switching fractions and the field induced lattice strains. The changes in the integrated intensities were used to obtain the non-180o domain switching fraction and the shift in peak positions were used to quantify the field induced lattice strains. The in situ studies could successfully explain the macroscopic strain response for the single phase pseudo-rhombohedral (monoclinic) composition on the basis of domain switching mechanisms and field induced lattice strains. The MPB compositions were shown to have additional contributions from interphase boundary motion, resulting from change in phase fraction of the coexisting phases. The results emphasized the need to investigate the electric field induced transformation for MPB compositions, in order to give a comprehensive picture of the various contributions to the macroscopic piezoreponse. While Rietveld analysis could be used to investigate the phase transformation behaviour upon application of electric field, textured diffraction profiles obtained using in situ studies, in addition to the severely overlapping Bragg reflections of the coexisting phases for the MPB compositions hindered reliable estimation of the structural parameters. An alternate approach to investigate the field induced phase transformation is presented in Chapter 4. The stroboscopic measurements on the MPB composition showed evidence of non-180o domain wall motion even at sub-coercive field amplitudes as low as 0.1 kV/mm. Chapter 4 presents the results of the ex situ electric field dependent structural study, wherein the diffraction profiles collected from poled powders is compared to that of unpoled powders. The diffraction profiles from the poled powders did not exhibit any field induced crystallographic texture and could successfully be analyzed using Rietveld analysis. High resolution synchrotron diffraction studies (ESRF, France) carried out on closely spaced compositions revealed that, the composition exhibiting the highest piezoelectric response is the one, which exhibits significantly enhanced lattice polarizability of both the coexisting (monoclinic and tetragonal) phases. The enhanced lattice polarizability manifests as significant fraction of the monoclinic phase transforming irreversibly to the tetragonal phase after electric poling. The monoclinic to tetragonal transformation suggested the existence of a low energy polarization rotation pathway towards the [001]pc direction in the (1 1 0)pc pseudocubic plane of the monoclinic phase. The results are discussed on the basis of the existing theories that explain piezoresponse in MPB systems and are in support of the Polarization rotation model, in favor of a genuine monoclinic phase. Chapter 5 discusses the ferroelectric-ferroelectric stability of the MPB compositions in response to externally applied stress and electric field independently. Using the newly developed ‘powder poling’ technique, which is based on the concept of exploiting the irreversible structural changes that occur after application of electric field and stress independently, it was possible to ascertain that, both moderate stress and electric field induce identical structural transformation - a fraction of the monoclinic phase transforms irreversibly to the tetragonal phase. The powder poling technique was also used to demonstrate field induced inter-ferroelectric transformation at sub-coercive field amplitudes. In addition, the analysis of the dielectric response before and after poling revealed a counterintuitive phenomenon of poling induced decrease in the spatial coherence of polarization for compositions around the MPB and not so for compositions far away from the MPB range. Exploiting the greater sensitivity of this technique, it was demonstrated that, the criticality associated with the inter-ferroelectric transition spans a wider composition range than what is conventionally reported in the literature based on bulk x-ray/neutron powder diffraction techniques. Chapter 6 presents the closure and important conclusions from the present work and summarizes the key results, highlighting the proposed mechanism of enhanced piezoresponse in BSPT. The last part of the chapter deals with suggestions for future work from the ideas evolved in the present study. vi

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The topic of this thesis is synthesis and preparation of lead-free pizoceramic with perovskite structure, in particular potassium-sodium niobate (KNN). In theoretical part are described possibilities of KNN synthesis and of it’s shaping and sintering. Experimental part deals with three types of synthesis described in the theretical part – solid state reaction, hydrothermal synthesis, sol-gel synthesis, and subconsequentional shaping of prepared powders by uniaxial pressing, cold isostatic pressure method, sintering (classical in oven, in some cases SPS – spark plasma sintering) of such green body and their following properties like relative density, grain size or charge constant. Preparation of KNN powder by each described method took place, followed by shaping and sintering. Best properties were shown by SPS sintered samples, which reached the highest density and lowest grain growth.

The content of this thesis is about preparation and processing of lead-free piezoceramic materials with perovskite structure. Potassium sodium niobate (KNN) powder was prepared by solid state reaction (SSR) and liquid phase reaction (sol-gel reaction). The powders were formed by uniaxial and isostatic pressing and further sintered. The density, grain size and morphology were determined on the sintered samples. The powder, synthesised by SSR and sintered in a conventional furnace, was chosen as a standard. The maximum density achieved on samples after optimization of sintering cycle was 93 %TD. The sintering optimization involved a homogenization step at 950 °C, which promotes the correct development of the phase composition and microstructure, followed by sintering at 1120 °C. The same approach and sintering cycle were used for sintering the samples, prepared by sol-gel synthesis. The maximum density of the samples prepared by sol-gel reaction and sintered in a conventional way, was 92 %TD. For further comparison, both of the synthesised powders were sintered using SPS (spark plasma sintering), which increased their final density up to 97 %TD. The approximate value of the piezoelectric coefficient d33 (pC/N) has been measured on selected SSR samples with pure phase composition ((K0,5Na0,5)NbO3). The best measured value of d33 was around 100 pC/N.

Bei der Fertigung von Siliziumwafern durch Zerteilen eines Siliziumblockes kommt das Drahttrennläppverfahren zur Anwendung. Es wird eine Erregereinheit entwickelt, die den Siliziumblock während des Schneidprozesses zu Schwingungen anregt. Die Verwendung von Piezoaktoren ermöglicht mehrachsige Schwingungen mit variabler Frequenz und Amplitude. Wesentliche Bestandteile der Arbeit sind experimentelle Untersuchungen an den Aktoren und der gesamten Erregereinheit sowie die Modellierung des Gesamtsystems mit Hilfe linearer Einzelmodelle. Es zeigt sich, dass die Aktoren bei dynamischen Anwendungen linear beschrieben werden können, während das Gesamtmodell besonders in den Resonanzbereichen aufgrund montagebedingter Einflüsse Schwächen aufweist. Abschließend wird der Einfluss der Schwingungsanregung beim Drahtsägen untersucht. Aus den Versuchen geht hervor, dass im getesteten Frequenz- und Amplitudenbereich sowohl hohe Erregerfrequenzen als auch –amplituden geringere Schnittkräfte zur Folge haben.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to develop a linear positioning stage for Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) environment. Simple prototypes of the linear positioning stage were designed and incorporated as part of a multiaxis sample manipulator for a UHV Scanning Tunneling Microscopy / Atomic Force Microscopy (STM/AFM). Different types of position encoders and linear guideways are discussed. Implementation of the homodyne interferometer as an optimization tool for a slip-stick based linear stage is described. Scalar diffraction theory is used to model the diffraction grating optical position encoder behavior.