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PROFESJON-Forskningskompetanse for utvalgte profesjonsutdanninger

Advanced Piezoelectric Devices

Alternative title: Avanserte piezoelektriske komponenter

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

Piezoelectricity is the phenomenon that some materials can respond electrically to a mechanical influence, or alternatively, respond mechanically to an electrical influence. For example, a slab of a piezoelectric material may deform when you apply a voltage across it. This coupling between the electrical and the mechanical domain has made numerous electronic devices possible. Some well known examples of uses are quartz-crystal resonators in quartz watches, probes used in ultrasound diagnosis and ink-jet printer heads. The numerous technological applications make piezoelectric devices interesting research subjects in the engineering sciences and economically important for many businesses. There is a significant number of high-technology companies in Norway that have piezoelectric devices as part of their core technology. They encompass as diverse applications as signal processing in satellites, sonars, medical diagnostics and tunable lenses. The primary objective of this strategic project is to strengthen piezoelectric devices as a research topic at the University of South-Eastern Norway. We have three focus-areas for the study. One is piezoelectric thin-films for higher performance analog signal processing. We study new methods to design and fabricate devices based on thin piezoelectric films. Another is electronic interfaces to piezoelectric transducers in order to enable remote powering of electronic devices by ultrasonic power transfer. The third is thin-film transducers for actuators in optical systems such as cameras. Surface acoustic wave resonators of aluminum nitride on sapphire have been fabricated and characterized. Measurements after high-temperature treatment show an improved crystallinity of the aluminum nitride film. A challenge with the high-temperature treatment is oxidation as a result of the protective atmosphere (nitrogen) not being completely free of oxygen. Therefore, an optimization of the process was done to reduce the degree of oxidation. A process for membrane preparation on silicon substrates that has further use in bulk acoustic wave structures was also developed. Theoretical models have been developed to estimate geometry and layer thickness for temperature-stable resonators and to simulate electric fields in a special structure called an XBAR structure. The work on acoustic power transfer has focused on wake-up circuits for the underwater sensor and results have been published. One solution has an ideal power consumption in the nanowatt range, which is the lowest that has been reported in the literature. Much work has been done on modeling and optimization of circuit solutions for the wake-up circuits. A number of these results are now published. The promising circuits have been laid out and fabricated in an external service. A new test setup for acoustic power transfer with piezoelectric transducers that allow us to test a wide range of configurations has been built. Integrated circuits have been fabricated and tested in two rounds where we demonstrated ultra low-power wake-circuits for underwater sensor-nodes and new low-power trigger circuits. New theory that captures the development of anticlastic deformation of piezoelectric beams under large deflections has been developed and published. Characterization and modelling og piezoelectic thin-film transducers have been conducted for a variety of electrode structures. Structures with electrodes patterned on both sides of the piezoelectric film revealed anomalous electrical behaviour. A new, effective method for characterization of vibration modes in actuators that require measurement only in a few points has been developed. New course material has been developed on piezoelectric accelerometers and piezoelectric resonators for a master's level subject. Furthermore, some curriculum development has been accomplished in an advanced subject on piezoelectric components. Development of lab assignments on piezoelectric components for our courses has been problematic due to the pandemic, but it has been possible to involve master and bachelor students in some of the research problems. Some of this is also conveyed through open lectures. In addition we have offered a problem to a group of high-school students as a dissemination activity. The work was carried out at Department of Microsystems, Campus Vestfold in collaboration with three companies in Horten and other research institutions both in Norway and overseas.

Prosjektet har gitt innsikt i modellering, virkemåte og design av tynnfilmresonatorer til forskningsfeltet. Det eksperimentelle arbeidet med disse komponentene har gitt oss en platform til å fabrikere disse komponentene som er viktig for vår videre forskning og for vår samarbeidspartner i industrien. Arbeidet med trådløs effektoverføring har bidratt med en rekke kretsløsninger som utgjør et grunnlag for videre arbeid på systemnivå. For aktuatorer har prosjektet bidratt med ny teori og eksperimentelle analysemetoder som vi forventer vil bli tatt i bruk på feltet. Prosjektet har bidratt vesentlig til å styrke piezoelektriske komponenter som et forskningtema i Norge og medført en kompetanseoppbygging innen fabrikasjon av piezoelektriske komponenter hos oss som også industrien kan nyte godt av. Alle resultatene er innenfor forskningstema som det er industriell interesse for. Prosjektet har sørget for at piezoelektriske komponenter er dekket i flere emner på alle nivåer utdanningene våre og med det at arbeidslivet får tilfang av denne kompetansen. Prosjektet har resultert i rekruttering av kompetent personell til Norge.

The piezoelectric effect was discovered by Pierre and Jacques Curie in 1880 and is the phenomenon that some materials experience an electrical polarization change when a mechanical stress is applied. This is called the direct effect. A piezoelectric material also exhibits the converse effect, which is that it deforms when an electrical field is applied. This coupling between the electrical and the mechanical domain has made numerous electronic devices possible. Best known among laypersons is probably the quartz-crystal resonator that has been the basis for quartz watches for several decades. The probes used in ultrasound diagnosis are usually also based on piezoelectric materials. The numerous technological applications make piezoelectric devices interesting research subjects in the engineering sciences and economically important for many businesses. There is a significant number of high-technology companies in Norway that have piezoelectric devices as part of their core technology. They encompass as diverse applications as signal processing in satellites, sonars, medical diagnostics and tunable lenses. In this project, we have chosen three focus-areas for study. One is piezoelectric thin-films for higher performance analog signal processing where the challenge is to simultaneously have low loss, strong coupling and high frequency. Another is electronic interfaces to piezoelectric transducers in order to enable remote powering of electronics devices by ultrasonic power transfer. This approach has challenges connected to effectiveness and low-power operation. The third is thin-film transducers for sensors and actuators where better models are needed in order to extract material parameters and improve designs, and where new ways to make the transducers are of interest.

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PROFESJON-Forskningskompetanse for utvalgte profesjonsutdanninger

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Politikk- og forvaltningsområderMiljø, klima og naturforvaltningPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderOlje og gass - Politikk og forvaltningBransjer og næringerEnergi - NæringsområdePortefølje Velferd og utdanningBransjer og næringerIKT-næringenVelferd, arbeidsliv og utdanningUtdanning og kompetanse i samspill med arbeids- og samfunnslivEnergiMiljøvennlig energi, annetBransjer og næringerInternasjonaliseringInternasjonalt prosjektsamarbeidPolitikk- og forvaltningsområderNæring og handelLTP3 Utenforskap, inkludering, kulturmøter og migrasjonKlimarelevant forskningLTP3 Utdanning og livslang læringVelferd, arbeidsliv og utdanningVelferd, arbeidsliv og utdanningProfesjonsutdanning og profesjonsutøvelseLTP3 Klima, miljø og energiLTP3 Tillit og fellesskapDelportefølje InternasjonaliseringBransjer og næringerVareproduserende industriEnergiInternasjonaliseringEnergiEnergibruk i industriGrunnforskningPortefølje InnovasjonMiljøvennlig energiMiljøvennlig energi, annetUtdanningUtdanning og kompetanse i samspill med arbeids- og samfunnslivLTP3 Miljøvennlig energi og lavutslippsløsningerDelportefølje Et velfungerende forskningssystemMiljøvennlig energiEnergibruk i industriLTP3 Nano-, bioteknologi og teknologikonvergensLTP3 Et kunnskapsintensivt næringsliv i hele landetUtdanningProfesjonsutdanning og profesjonsutøvelseLTP3 Styrket konkurransekraft og innovasjonsevneLTP3 Muliggjørende og industrielle teknologierPortefølje Banebrytende forskningNanoteknologi/avanserte materialerPortefølje ForskningssystemetPortefølje Energi og transportNanoteknologi/avanserte materialerMikro- og nanoelektronikkPortefølje Muliggjørende teknologierPolitikk- og forvaltningsområder