Themanipulation of charge-carrier conduction characteristics is a critical attribute governing the operation and efficiency of photovoltaic, catalytic, and other energy-converting systems that are based on electrochemical principles. This manipulation is often accomplished through the application of electrical-potential gradients by an external power supply and/or the creation of electronic-sta...

High accuracy positioning stages with multiple degrees-of-freedom, or microsteppers, are ubiquitous in industrial manufacturing. These devices are used in probing and inspection systems, in the assembly of disk drive heads, and in semiconductor manufacturing. In semiconductor manufacturing, microsteppers are employed to accurately move silicon wafers in the photolithography process. To guarante...

This chapter is dedicated to ultrasonic piezoelectric ceramic power transducers. These elements are now the most popular source of high power ultrasound and is used in many industrial applications. High power ultrasonic waves are generally used in such industrial processes as welding, acceleration of chemical reactions, scavenging in gas medium, echo sounding and underwater communication (sonar...

Owing to the polarization of ions in a crystal that has noncentral symmetry, a piezoelectric potential (piezopotential) is created in the material by applying a stress. The creation of piezopotential together with the presence of Schottky contacts are the fundamental physics responsible for a few important nanotechnologies. The nanogenerator is based on the piezopotential-driven transient flow ...

Abstract: In many industrial applications like semiconductor production and optical inspection systems, the availability of positioning systems capable to follow trajectory paths in the range of several centimetres, featuring at the same time a nanometre-range precision, is demanding. Pure piezoelectric stages and standard positioning systems with motor and spindle are not able to meet such req...