ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will be concerned mainly with materials that are used in energy conversion devices. The most common are those which convert electrical into mechanical energy and vice versa. These are the electrostrictive and piezoelectric transducers. Most of the discussion of these transducers can also be applied to magnetostrictive transducers. We will look at the different types of materials for these transducers and define their performance parameters. Among these materials the most important class is the ferro-electrics which have high relative permittivities and high strain coefficients. Finally, we look at applications of these materials in microelectronics, such as microelectromechanical machines (MEMs), and data storage.
