Recent developments in electroceramics: MEMS applications for energy and environment

Thin films of ferroelectric materials such as polar polymers and polymer ceramic composites show unique properties for a wide range of applications in the field of microelectronics, communications, biomedical engineering, energy conservation, micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) and others. Interest in these materials for devices having high permittivity induced by electrostatic polarization, has been revived in the past few years. The work on development of acoustic transducers, vibration sensors and pyroelectric arrays with integration of MEMS structures by bulk micromachining has begun in number of organizations in India. In this paper, recent developments in ferroelectric materials, advancements in poling and characterization techniques as well as materials considerations for integration with microelectronics in MEMS structures are briefly discussed. A review of status of the ongoing research work and the future prospects for application of MEMS devices in energy and environment are presented. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.1. All rights reserved.