Electrical and mechanical field interactions of piezoelectric systems: Foundation of smart structure-based piezoelectric sensors & actuators, piezo-transformers, and free-fall sensors

A series of new design viewpoints for piezoelectric systems are detailed which integrates a method that can introduce no-phase delay filters into finite structures as well as which extends the distributed sensor concept to the design of traditional point sensors can be shown to expand the design freedom of piezoelectric sensors and actuators. An inertia-based free-fall sensor that can measure the start of free-fall motion as well as a piezoelectric transformer with a voltage conversion efficiency higher than 99% are two of the examples used to demonstrate the wide applicability of these new concepts.