Lithium tantalate , piezoelectric properties

In contrast to polycrystaUine ceramic materials with ferroic properties, there exist nonferroic single crystal piezoelectrics such as a-quartz or materials with a calcium gaUium germanate (CGG) structure, as well as single crystal pyroelectrics with perovskite structure such as lithium tantalate (IiTa03). 

Any type of acoustic transducer, such as quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) or surface acoustic wave device (SAW), is fundamentally based on the piezoelectric effect. This was first described in 1880 by Jacques and Pierre Curie as a property of crystalline materials that do not have an inversion centre. When such a material is subjected to physical stress, a measurable voltage occurs on the crystal surfaces. Naturally, the opposite effect can also be observed, i.e. applying an electrical charge on a piezoelectric material leads to mechanical distortion, the so-called inverse piezo effect. These phenomena can be used to transfrom an electrical signal to a mechanical one and back, which actually happens in QCM and SAW. Different materials are ap-pHed for device fabrication, such as quartz, Hthium tantalate, lithium titanate... 

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