Active Transducers

Piezoelectric Transducers
• Piezoelectric Transducers are converters of mechanical energy into electrical
energy. They are based on the direct piezoelectric effect observed in certain
nonmetallic and insulating dielectric compounds.
• Electrical charge is developed on the surface of the crystals when they are under
mechanical strain due to the application of stress.
• They are treated as near ideal transducers for measurement of force, torque,
pressure, etc due to their high mechanical rigidity. They are popular owing to
their small size, high natural frequency, linearity, wide measuring range and
polarity sensitivity.
• The anisotropic effect noticed in pn junctions of semiconductor diodes and
transistors is allied to piezoelectric phenomenon. The application of stress on the
upper surface of a semiconductor junction results in a change of current across
the junction. Such devices are known as piezoelectric transistors and are used for
measurement of small pressure and force.
• Conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is possible by
using the same device. The application of electric potential between
the surfaces of a crystal results in a change of its physical dimensions.
This is the inverse effect and is also known as electrostriction. The
effect is widely used for generation of ultrasonic waves. Generating
and receiving ultrasonic systems are useful for detection and location
of underwater objects, noninvasive measurements and
nondestructive testing.
 Piezoelectric Phenomenon
• The Curie brothers discovered the piezoelectric effect in certain solid
crystalline dielectric substances such as quartz in 1880. Quartz is Silicon
Dioxide (SiO2) and is available as a natural substance. Under mechanical
stress, the crystal is strained and the consequent charge developed is
proportional to strain.
• The atoms in SiO2 are arranged in the crystal forming a hexagon in the
plane of paper while the optical axis (z axis) is perpendicular to the xy
plane. For 3 Si atoms, the 6 oxygen atoms are lumped in pairs, forming a
hexagonal crystal. The x and y axes are referred to as electrical and
mechanical axis.
• Under stress free conditions, all charges are balanced, but when a force is
applied along x axis, the balance is disturbed and electrical charge is
developed on the 2 faces A and B. This is known as Longitudinal effect.
• A force along the y axis also distorts the arrangement of atoms, and
charges are developed on the 2 faces A and B and this is referred to as
Transverse effect.
• The characteristic features of the longitudinal effect are that the
charge generated is independent of the area of the crystal and its
thickness in the x-direction. The charge developed on a given area of
a crystal face is proportional to the area affected by the pressure and
thus proportional to the total force applied normal to the surface.
• The charge sensitivity or the piezoelectric d-coefficient is the charge
developed per unit force.
• The piezoelectric g-coefficient is defined as the voltage sensitivity and
is expressed as the electric field produced per unit stress. This
method of using piezoelectric crystal for measurement of force and
pressure is known as thickness expander (TE) mode.
• Modes of utilizing the piezoelectric effect are known as Volume
expander (VE), Thickness shear (TS) and Face shear (FS).
 Piezoelectric Materials
• Materials exhibiting the piezoelectric phenomenon are divided into 2
groups: Natural and Synthetic. The natural group consists of Quartz,
Rochelle salt and Tourmaline. The synthetic group consists of ammonium
dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), Lithium sulphate and Dipotassium tartarate
(DKT).
• Quartz has no useful shear mode. It is the most stable material and
artificially grown quartz is preferred as it is purer than natural quartz. It’s d-
coefficient and relative permittivity remain unaffected by temperature.
Volume resistivity falls sharply at higher temperatures beyond 100 degree
Celsius.
• Tourmaline is the only material exhibiting a large sensitivity in the volume
expander mode related to the z axis. It’s temperature range is large (up to
1000 degree Celsius).
• Rochelle salt is produced on a industrial scale for producing gramophone
pick-ups and crystal microphones. It has highest relative permittivity and
• ADP crystals possess the lowest resistivity which is also
temperature dependent. They are used in acceleration and
pressure transducers with temperature compensation. The
crystals are cut so as to respond to face shear and length
expanders are cut from FS plates in a diagonal direction.
• Lithium sulphate is highly sensitive when used in VE mode, but
it can also be used in TE mode.
 Piezoelectric Semiconductors
• In 1961, it was discovered that a localized stress on the upper
surface of the pn junction of a semiconductor diode caused a very
large reversible current change in the current across the junction.
The phenomenon is due to the anisotropic stress effect in the pn
junctions, and devices utilizing this effect are known as piezoelectric
diodes and transistors.
• It is observed that considerable change in the magnitude of the
current of a Germanium diode, results from application of a few
grams of localized force. The change is Reversible.
 Applications of Hall Transducers
• The Hall effect transducer is primarily suited for the
measurement of magnetic fields. It is used for mapping of
magnetic field around conductors carrying large currents under
different flow conditions, with and without the presence of
metallic objects in their vicinity.
• It is highly valued for its speed of response in detection of
changes in the magnetic field to which it is exposed. The
advantages are its small size and high sensitivity.
• It is used as a proximity detector as it does not require to
establish a mechanical link with the test object. It is used to
measure the change in the strength or direction of the magnetic
field due to the displacement or nearness of the test object. In
other words, It can be used as a displacement transducer,
provided the test object can distort the magnetic field due to its
motion.