Transduction Principles and Sensors

Piezoelectric Sensors

Miguel Velhote Correia

mcorreia@fe.up.pt

April 2022
Piezoelectric effect
●
The word comes from the Greek "piezo", which means pressure
●
Effect discovered in 1880 by the Curie brothers in quartz crystals.
●
It translates into the appearance of an electric voltage between the faces of some
crystals when they are pressed.
●
Conversely, when an electric voltage is applied between the faces of a piezoelectric
crystal, it undergoes mechanical deformation.
●
The effect is explained by the displacement of ions in crystals with cells of the
asymmetric type crystal structure.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 2

Piezoelectric effect (cont.)
●
When the crystal is compressed, the ions of each cell of the crystal structure are
displaced, causing the electric polarization of that cell by relative displacement of the
positive and negative charges.

●
Given the regularity of the crystalline structure, these effects accumulate, causing the
distribution of electrical charges of opposite signal in opposite faces of the crystal.
These charges can be determined by measuring the potential difference between
electrodes placed on these faces.
●
Conversely, when an external electric field is applied to the crystal, the ions in each
cell are displaced by electrostatic forces, resulting in the mechanical deformation of
the entire crystal.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 3

Piezoelectric materials
●
Natural materials: Quartz, Tourmaline, Rochelle salt
●
Synthetic materials: Berlinite (AIPO4), Gallium orthophosphate
(GaPO4), Barium titanate (BaTiO3), PZT-titanate zirconate lead (Pb[Ti1-
x Zrx]O3), PVDF-difluoretpolyvinylidene difluoride and many others.
●
Depending on how the crystal is cut, three modes of operation may
occur: transverse, longitudinal and shear.
Crystal εr d [pC/N]
Quartz (SiO2) 4.5 2.3

BaTiO3 1700 140

PZT-4 1200 110

PVDF 13 18.2

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 4

Modes of operation: Transverse
●
The force is applied along the neutral
axis (y) and the loads generated along
the direction (x), perpendicular to the
force line.
●
The amount of charge generated Force

depends on the geometric dimensions Conductive

of the piezoelectric crystal Surface
Conductive
Surface
b b

q x =d xy F y
a
Piezoelectric
where b is the dimension according to material
the neutral axis, a is the dimension Force
along the axis of charge generation
and dxy is the corresponding
piezoelectric coefficient.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 5

Modes of operation: Longitudinal
●
The amount of charge produced is
proportional to the applied force and is
independent of the size and shape of
the piezoelectric crystal.
●
Using multiple elements that are Conductive Force
Surface
mechanically in series (stacked) and
electrically in parallel can increase the
output charge: Piezoelectric
material

q x =d xx F x n
Conductive
Surface
where dxx is the piezoelectric coefficient Force

for the charge in the x direction released

by forces Fx along the x direction and n
corresponds to the number of stacked
elements.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 6

Modes of operation: Shear
●
The charges produced are proportional
to the forces applied and independent
of the size and shape of the
piezoelectric elements.
●
For n elements mechanically in series
and electrically in parallel the charge is
given by

q x =2 d xx F x n

where dxx is the piezoelectric coefficient

for the charge in the x direction released
by forces Fx along the x direction, and n
corresponds to the number of stacked
elements.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 7

Typical calculation example
Consider a PZT parallelepiped with sides of 1cm x 1cm and height 1mm. What voltage will
appear on the electrodes placed on the faces if a longitudinal force of 1N is applied?
●
Relative permittivity of PZT εr= 1200
●
Piezoelectric coefficient d = 110 x 10-12 C / N

The equivalent capacitance of the device is:

ε 0 ε r A ( 8.85×10−12 F /m ) ( 1200 ) ( 1×10−4 m2 )

C= = =1.1nF
h −3
( 1×10 m )
The voltage on the device electrodes is:
Q d F dhF ( 110×10−12 C / N )( 1×10−3 m ) ( 1 N )
V= = = = =100 mV
C C ε 0 ε r A ( 8.85×10 F /m ) ( 1200 ) ( 1×10 m )
−12 −4 2

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 8

Equivalent circuit model
●
The piezoelectric crystals have a very large electrical resistance (order of tens of GΩ)
but finite and so if they undergo a static mechanical deformation, a charge is
generated that will be lost over time through the leakage resistance of the crystal.

+ Force kF/C
Generated
Cs Rs o F
charge
q = kF
−

● The time constant will be τ = RsCs, which is usually in the order of a few seconds

F v Amplifier
Cable

Crystal

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 9

Equivalent circuit model (cont.)
Piezoelectric sensor equivalent circuit with amplifier

+
Generated iAmplifier = 0
charge Rs Cs Cc Ca Ra o
q = kF
−
q=kF
iR i a= 0
+ dq dF
Generated is iC i s = =k
current C R o
dt dt
is = kdF/dt i s =i c +i R
−
1
R = Ra Rs /(Ra+ Rs ) » Ra v o =v c = ∫ i c dt
C = Cs + Cc + Ca C
Rs – sensor leakage resistance dv o dF v o
Cs – sensor capacitance
i s −i R =C =k −
dt dt R
Cc – connection cable capacitance
Ca – input amplifier capacitance
V o ( jω ) jωτ
=k s
Ra – input amplifier resistance F( jω) 1+ j ω τ
q – charge generated by piezoelectric effect
where τ=RC ; k s =k /C
M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 10
Low frequency response
Example: Piezoelectric sensor with capacitance
|Vo/F |
Cs=500pF, leakage resistance 10GΩ and amplifier
with input resistance 5MΩ and negligible input ks
capacitance: k /√2
s
V o( j ω) jωτ
=k s
F( j ω) 1+ j ω τ
To decrease fc we can increase the input
resistance of the amplifier or use a charge
amplifier. 0 ωc ω

1 1
f c= = =64 Hz
2 π RC 2 π (10 G Ω // 5 M Ω )500 pF

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 11

 High frequency response
Mechanical
Output voltage resonance
Input force
Lm

Cm Cs Rt
Rm

Useful
range
fc Frequency

●
Due to the phenomenon of mechanical resonance the equivalent circuits for the high
frequencies of the piezoelectric crystals are complex.
●
A widely used model is to add an RLC resonant circuit in parallel to the previous model.
●
In the resulting frequency response curve, the operating zone is indicated.
●
In certain applications these crystals may be used in the resonance zone when it is
desired to control the frequency accurately (for example in crystal oscillator circuits).

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 12

 Charge Amplifer
Rg

is

Cg
is
-
iC iR
C
o
R
is = KdF/dt
+

t t
1 1 kdF −kF
If R g →∞ ; v 0=− ∫ i (t )dt =− ∫ dt =
Cg 0 s C g 0 dt Cg
●
The output voltage is proportional to the applied force F.
●
The circuit has a high-pass behavior with a time constant τ = RgCg
controlled by the circuit designer t
−k F − R Cg
v 0 (t )= e g

Cg
M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 13
 Piezoelectric force sensor
●
A disc of piezoelectric material is placed
between two plates and the assembly is
tightened rigidly and subjected to a pre-
stress.
●
In addition to ensuring the intimate contact
between the plates and the piezo crystal,
prestressing ensures the operation of the
system either by compression or by traction.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 14

 Piezoelectric acceleration sensor

Shear mode accelerometer.

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 15

 Other applications
●
Vibration sensors, Microphones, Loudspeakers
●
In cardiology, for both external (body surface) and internal
(intracardiac) phonocardiography. They are also used in the
detection of Korotkoff sounds in blood pressure
measurements.
●
Measurement of physiological accelerations, for example, in
the study of human movements (gait, running, posture,
etc.).
●
In the ultrasonic measurement of blood flow in which
piezoelectric elements are used in mechanical resonance to
emit and receive the high frequency sounds.
M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 16
Questions...

If needed, the references

(1) Fraden, Handbook of Modern
Sensors
(2) Campilho, Instrumentação
Electrónica, Métodos e
técnicas de medição

are available for you!

M. V. Correia Piezoelectric Sensors, 17