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2: Capacitors and Piezoelectric Devices

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    • 2.1: Prelude to Capacitors and Piezoelectric Devices
      This page introduces material polarization and discusses capacitors and piezoelectric devices, which convert mechanical to electrical energy. It sets the groundwork for understanding pyroelectric and electro-optic devices, all linked to material polarization.
    • 2.2: Capacitors
      This page explores material polarization in insulators under external voltage, linking electric field intensity and displacement flux density, and discusses energy storage in capacitors. It covers definitions of permittivity, electric susceptibility, and relative permittivity relevant to capacitor design.
    • 2.3: Piezoelectric Devices
      This page covers material polarization in insulators, focusing on piezoelectric effects that arise from mechanical stress without an external voltage. It explores the relationships between stress, strain, and polarization, discussing both linear and nonlinear behaviors. The classification of crystal structures into point and space groups is explained, detailing 32 point groups and 230 space groups, along with their symmetry properties and effects on piezoelectricity.
    • 2.4: Problems
      This page provides an overview of capacitors and piezoelectric materials, detailing capacitance calculations and their behavior across frequencies, as well as clarifying energy conservation misconceptions in piezoelectric devices. Additionally, it explains 2D crystal structures, focusing on lattice components, atom arrangements, and primitive vectors, followed by a comparative analysis of 2D materials' crystallography.

    Thumbnail: A piezoelectric disk generates a voltage when deformed. (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported; Tizeff via Wikipedia)


    This page titled 2: Capacitors and Piezoelectric Devices is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Andrea M. Mitofsky via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.