Piezoelectric Thin Film Forms Three-Axis Angular Velocity Sensor

摘要

Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Wacoh Co., Ltd. have developed a three-axis angular velocity sensor using lead-free piezoelectric thin film. The companies aim at contributing to the protection of the global environment by developing lead-free angular velocity sensors for camera shake detection of digital still cameras (DSCs), automobile position detection, and so on. A piezoelectric thin film is a thinly formed piezoelectric material that produces the piezoelectric effect (converts applied pressure into voltage and vice versa), and generally, materials containing lead zirconate titanate (PZT) are used to make it. The film is widely used not only for three-axis angular velocity sensors for detecting camera shake of DSCs and automobile positions but also to inkjet printer heads. There is high expectation of expanded applications in the future, for example, in micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) mirror devices for head-up displays and projectors.