The Penn State Research Foundation

Nan Li

L Eric Cross

John Y Fu

Wenyi Zhu

Baojin Chu

An example flexoelectric-piezoelectric apparatus provides an electrical response to an applied force, and/or an actuation in response to an applied electric field, that originates from the flexoelectric properties of a component. For example, shaped forms within the apparatus may be configured to yield a stress gradient on application of the force, and the stress gradient induces the flexoelectric signal. A flexoelectric-piezoelectric apparatus can be substituted for a conventional piezoelectric apparatus, but does not require the use of a piezoelectric material. Instead, the response of the apparatus is due to the generation of stress gradients and/or field gradients.

Flexoelectric&#x2014;piezoelectric composite based on flexoelectric charge separation

An example flexoelectric piezoelectric composite has a piezoelectric response, which may be a direct piezoelectric effect, a converse piezoelectric effect, both effects, or only one effect. The flexoelectric composite comprises a first material, which may be substantially isotropic, the first material being present in a shaped form. The shaped form gives a piezoelectric response due to a flexoelectric effect in the first material. The shaped form may have &#x221e;m symmetry, or a polar variant of this form such as 4 mm symmetry.

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Nan Li