1. Introduction

In the most general terms, a material is piezoelectric if it transforms electrical into mechanical energy, and vice versa, in a reversible or lossless process. This transformation is evident at a macroscopic scale in what are commonly known as the direct and converse piezoelectric effects. The direct piezoelectric effect refers to the ability of a material to transform mechanical deformations into electrical charge. Equivalently, application of mechanical stress to a piezoelectric specimen induces flow of electricity in the direct piezoelectric effect. The converse piezoelectric effect describes the process by which the application of an electrical potential difference across a specimen results in its deformation. The converse effect can also be viewed as how the application of an external electric field induces mechanical stress in the specimen.