Flexoelectricity is an electromechanical effect coupling polarization to strain gradients. It fundamentally differs from piezoelectricity because of its size-dependence and symmetry. Flexoelectricity is generally perceived as a small effect noticeable only at the nanoscale. Since ferroelectric ceramics have a particularly high flexoelectric coefficient, however, it may play a significant role as piezoelectric transducers shrink to the submicrometer scale. We examine this issue with a continuum model self-consistently treating piezo- and flexoelectricity. We show that in piezoelectric device configurations that induce strain gradients and at small but technologically relevant scales, the electromechanical coupling may be dominated by flexoelectricity. More importantly, depending on the device design flexoelectricity may enhance or reduce the effective piezoelectric effect. Focusing on bimorph configurations, we show that configurations that are equivalent at large scales exhibit dramatically different behavior for thicknesses below 100 nm for typical piezoelectric materials. Our results suggest flexoelectric-aware designs for small-scale piezoelectric bimorph transducers.
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December 2015
Research-Article
Constructive and Destructive Interplay Between Piezoelectricity and Flexoelectricity in Flexural Sensors and Actuators
Amir Abdollahi,
Amir Abdollahi
Laboratori de Cálcul Numéric,
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
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Irene Arias
Irene Arias
Laboratori de Cálcul Numéric,
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
e-mail: irene.arias@upc.edu
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
e-mail: irene.arias@upc.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Amir Abdollahi
Laboratori de Cálcul Numéric,
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
Irene Arias
Laboratori de Cálcul Numéric,
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
e-mail: irene.arias@upc.edu
Departament de Matemática Aplicada III,
Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña,
Jordi Girona 1-3,
Barcelona E-08034, Spain
e-mail: irene.arias@upc.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Applied Mechanics Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF APPLIED MECHANICS. Manuscript received July 2, 2015; final manuscript received August 17, 2015; published online September 10, 2015. Assoc. Editor: M. Taher A. Saif.
J. Appl. Mech. Dec 2015, 82(12): 121003 (4 pages)
Published Online: September 10, 2015
Article history
Received:
July 2, 2015
Revised:
August 17, 2015
Citation
Abdollahi, A., and Arias, I. (September 10, 2015). "Constructive and Destructive Interplay Between Piezoelectricity and Flexoelectricity in Flexural Sensors and Actuators." ASME. J. Appl. Mech. December 2015; 82(12): 121003. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4031333
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